His Emerald Eyes
by Crazy Twilight Lover
Summary: Bella and Edward are going out, but celebrities Vivian and Anthony loathe each other. Can a contract bring the celebrities together, before secrets are spilled? And how do the students know about the celebs? Rewritten and changed. All human. EXB Hiatus
1. Celebrities

**Author's Note-This is kinda inspired by the show on Disney Channel **_**Hannah Montana**_**. (But I, for some reason, hate that show and the actor.) I'm still planning it, so if you want to read my two most popular stories, they are I Hate How Fate Plays With My Heart**** and ****Ways To Piss Off Emmett Cullen.**

**In this story, Bella and Edward are 17 and still in high school. They're careers are at night, and during the day, they go to school, like in **_**Hannah Montana**_**.**

**Disclaimer: Disclaimers are stupid, but I have to say that I do not own Twilight...yada yada yada...**

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Chapter 1

Celebrities

**Bella's POV**

I finished my newest song hit, _Love Hurts_. The crowd was cheering wildly, shouting and chanting my name over and over again. "Vivian! Vivian! Vivian Jonas!"

I smiled and waved at the crowd, then exited backstage. Life as a celebrity was great.

"Vivian Jonas! Vivian Jonas! Can you sign my cap please?" One of my fans ran up to be, brandishing a pink cap. I signed it and the girl squealed.

Ah, life as a celebrity really was sweet. And I wasn't too bad looking. I had straight black hair that went halfway down my back and pretty violet eyes. Not your typical girl, but I liked how I looked.

When the seats were all empty, I walked outside, my purple eyes flickering uneasily over the chairs. I saw a tiny movement near the entrance of the arena. "Who's there?" I called out nervously.

A dirty-blond head appeared in the third last row farthest from the stage. Bright topaz eyes bore into my light violet ones, freezing me in place.

Speak of the devil.

"What are you doing here, Anthony Masen?" I snarled in between tightly clenched teeth. Anthony was another celebrity who was most definitely not my favorite person in the world.

A brooding, bored expression appeared on Anthony's angular face. "Why? Can't I attend a concert of yours without you biting off my nose? _Some _celebrity you are," he drawled lazily.

My hands balled into fists at my side and I fought the strong urge to punch him. He smiled arrogantly, as if he knew what I was fighting.

"You're just a stuck up pig who doesn't care about anything but popularity," I shot back.

He smiled. It was like a python's sweet smile right before it kills you, and reminded me of Alice's evil smile. I learned how not to flinch from my best friend. "At least I have a girlfriend whom I've dated for a year already," he bragged.

"I have a boyfriend too, and we've been together for a year too," I argued.

"So, Vivian Jonas, celebrity, has a life. How awesome," Anthony sneered sarcastically.

I sneered right back, "And the great, perfect Anthony Masen actually has a girlfriend that lasted past the third date."

Anthony just grinned. "I have another concert to go to. See you later, _Vivy_." I would have kicked him in his sensitive part for calling me by my most hated nickname if he didn't run away then.

"Idiot," I grumbled. I left and slid into my black Ferrari, my secret 'celeb' car. It was in the secret room in my garage when I didn't need it.

I drove home as quickly as I could and called my best friend Alice. She knew about me being Vivian Jonas. "Hello?" she chirped.

"Alice? I am gonna _kill _Anthony Masen! He is such a stuck up person!" I ranted.

Alice pretend sighed, "Oh Bella, give the poor boy a break. I'm sure he's a really nice kid inside, and he's just hiding from the world of celebs, if you know what I mean. You know, the world of rumors and gossip and popularity."

"Fine, Alice. But how's Edward doing? I miss him." My mind immediately turned to my boyfriend.

Edward. His messy bronze hair that I loved running my hands through. His stunning emerald eyes that held me captive. His smooth velvet voice that made me weak at the knees. But I never told him about me being a celebrity, or he might've back-stabbed me.

Alice giggled, as if she knew something I didn't. "He misses you too. Here, I'll give him the phone. EDWARD!"

I heard quick footsteps and my favorite voice in the world said, "Bella?"

"Edward! I missed you so much!" I cried.

"I missed you too. Look, I have to go to bed now, Esme's yelling at me. I'm sorry. I love you," he said.

I sighed sadly. "Alright. I love you too." I hung up and got out of my celebrity clothes. I reached up and tugged at my black hair, and the wig fell off, revealing long brown locks that came to my waist. I removed my violet contacts, showing my brown eyes.

I got into bed, and fell asleep, dreaming about a pair of emerald eyes.

* * *

**Edward's POV**

I listened to Vivian sing. She finished her song and walked offstage, while the crowd was cheering wildly. I didn't see what was so great about her.

Yeah. I'm Anthony Masen, famous celebrity and rival of Vivian Jonas. And I was good-looking, too. I had dirty-blond hair that hung in my eyes and bright topaz irises. I had girls throwing themselves at me, but I already had Bella.

Bella.

My girlfriend, Bella Swan. She had long, silky brown hair that flowed to her slender waist. Her eyes were brown and so deep I could swim in them. Her voice was soft and enchanting, like an angel's. And those full, pouting red lips that made me want to kiss her and never let go. But I never told her about me being a celebrity, because I want her to love _me_, not a famous person.

"Wow!" a girl screamed. "Are you Anthony Masen?" I nodded, and she squealed, "Can you sign my pink cap for me?" I signed it and slipped away.

When the arena was empty, I crawled into the third farthest row from the stage and ducked down just as Vivian was coming out. Sugar honey iced tea! **(A/N-I never curse, so I use **_**sugar honey iced tea**_** for the 's' word. If you don't know what it means, look at the first letter of each word.)**

She saw me and called out rather nervously, "Who's there?"

I stood up and stared right into her pretty violet eyes. _But not as pretty as Bella's_, I thought. Vivian froze.

"What are you doing here, Anthony Masen?" she snarled. It came out in between her clenched teeth. You see, we hate each others' guts.

I didn't even need to think to kept my face bored and vacant, expressionless. "Why? Can't I attend a concert of yours without you biting off my nose? _Some _celebrity you are," I said in a lazy voice.

Vivian's hands clenched into fists, and she fought to keep them from trembling with rage. I grinned cockily.

"You're just a stuck up pig who doesn't care about anything but popularity," she spat at me.

I gave a false sweet smiled, using the one my sister Alice taught me to scare enemies. Most people would have flinched, but Vivian was motionless. "At least I have a girlfriend whom I've dated for a year already," I bragged. Most celebs are 'on and off' dating.

"I have a boyfriend too, and we've been together for a year too," Vivian snapped.

"So, Vivian Jonas, celebrity, has a life. How awesome," I sneered, using heavy sarcasm.

"And the great, perfect Anthony Masen actually has a girlfriend that lasted past the third date," she shot back.

I laughed and said, "I have another concert to go to. See you later, _Vivy_." Vivian hated her nickname. I knew she was about to knee me, and ran away. I knew that look so well. It was the look Bella gave Mike after he touched her butt on our second date. Let's just say Mike wasn't going to be having babies until he's in his forties, because Bella had a hard knee.

"Idiot," I heard Vivian grumble as she slid into her black Ferrari and drove away. I ran to my silver Aston Martin V12, my secret 'celebrity' car. Alice cleverly installed a secret room in our garage after Bella almost found my Aston Martin.

I drove home and found Alice on the phone. My whole family knew about me being Anthony Masen, and I knew I needed to tell Bella soon.

I removed my dirty-blond wig and ran my hands through my touseled bronze hair. I took off my expensive butterscotch contacts and stared into the mirror at my stunning, bright green eyes.

"EDWARD!" I heard Alice call me. I quickly power-walked to her and snatched the phone from her hands. "Bella?" I asked.

"Edward! I missed you so much!" Bella cried. Her voice sounded angelic, even over the phone.

"I missed you too. Look, I have to go to bed now, Esme's yelling at me. I'm sorry. I love you," I told her. I was sad about not being able to talk with Bella longer, but I was getting on Esme's nerves.

I heard my sweetheart sigh sadly. "Alright. I love you too," she said, then hung up.

I sighed and thought about her for a while. Finally, I showered, dried my hair, and crawled into bed. I closed my eyes and dreamed about a certain brown-eyed goddess named Bella.

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**Author's Note-So, how was it? Please tell me! I'm still thinking about what to write next, so I probably won't update for a couple of days, not to mention my mom's not friendly with the computer...**

**For those of you who read this before, I know I wrote "Izzy" not "Vivian" but Izzy sounds too much like Isabella, and Isabella turns into Bella.**

**PLEASE REVIEW! Whoever does gets to steal Edward Cullen or any other Twilight character for one night! (Keep reviewing and I might make it longer!)**


	2. School

**Author's Note-Even though this story is inspired by Hannah Monatna, I don't like that show. I swear, I get a heart attack every time I see her face in the little kiddy clothes, backpacks, accesories, etc. stores.**

**I can't wait for Breaking Dawn! But I promised myself I wouldn't read it because I want the book to be a surprise when it comes out. So, the first chapter and the preface are a mystery to me. I also can't wait til the Twilight Movie comes out! Eeek! Everyone looks so real, except maybe Jasper's hair. It looks more dirty blond than honey blond.**

**IMPORTANT: For those of you who read Chapter 1 before I changed it, I changed Bella's celeb name from Izzy to Vivian.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, or Edward Cullen/Masen, who I know some people are very in love with.**

**Edward: Somebody shoot me.**

**Me: Shut up! Just cuz you can make girls swoon doesn't mean you can pop up in my story whenever you want! Dear readers, please read on while I go hunt up a gun strong enough to kill Edward.**

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Chapter 2

A Regular Day At School

**Bella's POV**

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Be--_ I groaned in frustration and slammed my hand down on my very (put heavy emphasis on 'very') annoying alarm clock mid-beep. My mom Renee got it for me for my eighth birthday, and I didn't have the heart to throw it away.

Rubbing sleep from my eyes, I got up. Unfortunately, being bleary-eyed, I crashed into a wall and tripped over an expensive scarf.

Why, oh why, did God choose now out of all times to make me clumsy?

I finally managed to stagger into the bathroom and brushed my teeth. I carefully washed my face, being sure to remove any make-up that I could have forgotten to wipe of last night. I hid my wig and contacts in my "hidden closet".

I loved saving the shower for the last. The warm water pelted my flushed skin and washed away all my worries. I closed my eyes and settled in for a long relaxing bath.

Suddenly, "Should've Said No" by Taylor Swift blasted from the sink.

_You should've said no, you should've gone home_

_You should've thought twice before you let it all go_

_You should've known that word, bout what you did with her_

_Would get back to me..._

I snatched up my black LG Voyager cell-phone. "What do you want, Alice?" I snapped. "You better have a good reason for interrupting my shower!"

"Don't you want to talk to your boyfriend?" a familiar velvet voice purred.

"E-Edward?" I stuttered. "Why do you have your sister's phone?"

His intoxicating laugh chimed through the phone. "Surprise!"

"I missed you, Edward," I whimpered. "I wish you were here."

"I miss you too, love. You have no idea how hard it is not being with you," he sighed.

"Bells! Are you done yet?" Justin's childish voice echoed up the wide spiral staircase. I groaned again.

"I have to go," I whispered quickly. "My brother's...impatient."

"Bye, Bella," he said sadly. "I love you."

"Bye. Love you too." I ended the call and got out of the tub. I dressed simply and left my bathroom. It was installed in my room. By then, Justin was playing boxing with my bedroom door. "JUSTIN!" I roared. I wretched open the door and ducked as my half-brother's fist almost connected with my face.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly, rubbing his head.

Tony and Paul ran to see what all the fuss was about, but left shaking their heads when they saw Justin. You see, Justin, Tony, and Paul Swan were my cousins. Justin is eighteen (but he acts like a two-yesr-old), Paul is twenty, Tony is fifteen, and I am seventeen.

"You interrupted a romantic phone call from my boyfriend!" I yelled, smacking Justin on the head with a pillow.

He cowered away. "Sorry," he said, like a dog with its tail between its legs.

I hit him again with my pillow. "MOMMY!" he whined. "Bella hit me!" I hit him another time.

Paul yelled up the stairs, "Grow up, Justin!"

"I am grown up! I'm already eighteen!" Justin retorted. He stuck his tongue out in our older brother's direction.

"Dimwit," I muttered under my breath, but loud enough for Joe to hear. "You are sooooo sad."

"No I'm not! I'm happier than--hey!" It took him this long to process that information. "I'm not a dimwit! MOMMY! Bella's calling me names!"

I groaned for the third time this morning and shooed my cousin away. Why did I hang out with him, when he only caused me to lose more brain cells? I tossed some bread into the toaster and started scrambling enough eggs for ten people. Three-tenths for Paul, four-tenths for Justin, three-tenths for Tony, and one-tenth for me. WHY do boys eat so much?

"Where's Charlie?" Justin asked around a mouthful of toast.

"He's at work and don't talk with food in your mouth," I scolded. He was one year older than me, and yet he acted like a five-year-old.

Justin just shrugged and helped himself to some bacon. Tony and Paul weren't that bad; they had manners.

Tony and Justin squeezed into my red Toyota (Innocent car). As soon as I parked in front of Forks High, a bunch of boys came and crowded around the car.

"Hey, Tony! How about movies tonight?" a freshman friend asked.

"Justin! Up for some clubbing?" a senior called eagerly.

I mumbled under my breath about boys and popularity, but was silenced when a pair of soft lips pressed against the crook of my neck.

I jumped in surprise and Edward chuckled. I glared at him. "Deep in your thoughts, love?" I nodded, then exited my car. We trekked into the school and turned toward first period. English, my favorite subject.

As soon as I sat down with Edward on my left, someone approached, swaying her hips. She perched on the edge of his desk.

"Hey, Eddie." Tanya, the strawberry-blond Queen Bee of Forks High, was flirting with _my_ boyfriend. I supressed a territorial growl.

"Tanya," Edward said coolly. "And don't call me Eddie."

"So, like, how are you?" Tanya said in a 'seductive voice' that sounded like a cat drowning.

Disinterest was oozing from Edward. He began playing with my left hand and fingers.

Tanya, not liking that he was ignoring her, blurted out, "Will you go out with me?"

He laughed. _Laughed._ "Why would I go out with you when I have my Bella?" he sniggered.

"B-But..." Tanya spluttered, tears welling in her flat blue eyes. "No one says no when I ask them out!" She ran sobbing out of the room, pushing poor Mrs. Simon away from the door. Dramatic.

The rest of the morning was uninteresting.

Finally, at lunch, another popular girl had the courage to come to the Cullen, Hale, and Swan table.

"Oh my god, guys. Guess what?" Lauren squealed. Alice and Rose continued chatting about a new make-up brand. Emmett and Jasper were having a mini food fight. Tony was writing a new song (he was a great song-writer), tapping the beat against the table. And Justin was stuffing his mouth. Typical Justin Swan.

Only Edward and I feigned interest.

"I got Vivian Jonas's autograph last night!" Lauren squealed again. Justin and Tony's heads snapped up when they heard my stage name mentioned. Oh. So it was Lauren whose cap I signed the night before.

Edward made a face. "Vivian Jonas?" he repeated, with a disgusted look on his face.

"You dislike her?" Lauren gasped.

"I _don't_ dislike her. I _hate_ her!" Edward spat. His face reminded me so much of Anthony Masen. His emerald eyes were dark with anger.

My heart sank. Did that mean that he hated half of me? My face crumpled and I hid it in my arms. Alice and Rose soothingly rubbed my shoulders, whispering, "It's okay." Alice, Rose, Emmett, and Jasper were the only four people (besides my half-brothers) who knew my secret.

"I also got Anthony Masen's autograph," Lauren gloated, waving her pink cap in my face. "He's just _so_ hott..."

My head snapped out of my arms, brown eyes boring a hole in Lauren's dull hazel eyes. "Did you just say _Anthony Masen_?" I snarled.

"Yes, but back off, cause one day, he will be mine," Lauren fantasized.

I held back a gag. "I _hate_ Anthony Masen! He's a no good little cheater..." I ranted on and on.

I noticed that Edward's face was sad. Was he a fan of Anthony Masen, my biggest rival? Oh no. Did I hurt his feelings?

We didn't speak to each other for the rest of the school day, not even in biology. Finally, in the parking lot, we gave up the awkward silence. I broke it first, not being able to not hear his velvety voice.

"Drive safely," I mumbled.

He looked at me long and hard, then sighed. "Bella, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have ignored you. But I actually like Anthony Masen. He's quite a decent guy once you get to know him."

I snorted. "I probably know him better than you do. But I'm sorry too."

Edward smiled crookedly at me, then leaned forward and captured my lips with his. I instinctively buried my hands in his soft bronze hair, pulling him closer. He moaned quietly into my mouth. We continued making out until Emmett and Joe interrupted.

"Gosh, guys! Get a room!" Justin yelled at the same time Emmett yelled, "Are you guys really gonna go at it in the school parking lot?"

"Sorry Justin, Emmett," Edward panted breathlessly. I didn't trust myself to speak.

All eight of us stared at each other. "Awkwarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrd!!" Justin exclaimed his oh-so-famous quote out of nowhere.

We all left, and I couldn't help but wonder how I was ever going to tell Edward that I was his least favorite popstar.

* * *

**Edward's POV**

"Eddie, wake up! Wake up, Eddie!" Alice and Emmett sang off-tune while sprawled lazily on my bed. I covered my ears and kicked them off.

"Bad mood, Eddie?" Emmett gwaffed. Jasper (When did he get here?) was rolling on the ground, pointing at my even-more-messed-up-than-usual hair and looking as if he was about to wet his pants.

"You tell me," I growled. Rosalie waltzed in and stared wordlessly at me.

"Why are you wearing a button-down shirt and boxers?" she demanded as if I was insane.

Alice rolled his eyes. "He just woke up."

"That explains the morning look," Rose snickered.

"Hey, sis, I found a new nail polish in Alice's room!" Jasper called, waving an unopened bottle of glittering pink polish in his sister's face.

"New?" Rose retorted. "That's been out for two weeks already! If that is new, then I'm a hedgehog!"

_You're just a prickly too_, I thought. But I didn't dare voice my thoughts aloud. Rose would kill me.

"Rose, I say this with love in my heart,"Alice said dramatically, placing a hand over her heart. "Your make-up looks terrible on you."

Rosalie screamed and ran out of my room. Drama Queen. She returned ten minutes later with different make-up on. "Much better," my sister grinned.

"Get out of my room. I gotta change," I said, pointing to the door.

Everyone left, laughing, joking, and shoving each other in their haste to leave before I started changing. Alice was the last one; she tossed me a cell-phone and told me to call Bella. Then, she slammed the door.

I dialed my girlfriend's cell-phone number and held the phone to my ear. It rang for a long time, and just before I was going to hang up, Bella answered.

"What do you want, Alice? You better have a good reason for interrupting my shower!" Bella snapped. Whoa. She was not in a good mood.

I purred huskily, "Don't you want to talk to your boyfriend?"

"E-Edward?" She stumbled out my name. "Why do you have your sister's phone?"

"Surprise!" I laughed, delighted at hearing her stutter.

"I missed you, Edward," she whimpered softly. "I wish you were here."

I let out a sigh. "I miss you too, love. You have no idea how hard it is not being with you."

I heard her brother Justin's impatient voice float through the phone. "Bells! Are you done yet?" It was followed by the sound of swishing water.

"I have to go," she whispered quickly. "My cousin's...impatient." Oh. I had once gotten in the way when Justin was like that. I went home with a searing pain in my leg and half a black eye. That guy had a good fist.

"Bye, Bella," I said, my voice engulfed in sadness. "I love you."

"Bye. Love you too." She disconnected the call. It seemed like one of us always had to end our calls early. I shoved my phone into my pocket, showered quickly, and dressed in a simple outfit (picked by Alice, of course).

I walked downstairs to find Rose sitting on the kitchen counter and Alice and Jasper in a heavy lip-lock. I cleared my throat loudly and they broke apart for air.

"Where's Emmett?" I asked. Rose jabbed her thumb towards the ceiling. I nodded.

My mother Esme strolled in and served us breakfast. "It's really nice of you to feed us, Mrs. Cullen," Jasper said politely, stabbing at his eggs.

Alice saw the crisp bacon on her plate and let out an ear-splitting shriek. "Mom! This has too much grease on it! It'll make me fat!" she cried.

I rolled my eyes and left my family and the Hales (mainly Jasper) to comfort Alice that the bacon would not ruin her tiny frame. I slid casually into my silver Volvo and started the engine. It purred to life under my hands. I loved my Volvo, even more than my Aston Martin.

_Finally,_ everyone clambered into my precious car and I sped to school, going _way_ over the speed limit. I hopped out and ran to Bella's cherry red Toyota.

She looked deep in thought. I decided to surprise her. Quietly, I opened the drivers door. Still no response. I leaned closer ot her still body, and skimmed my lips gently across the supple, smooth skin in the crook of her neck.

Bella jumped. High. I chuckled, unable to keep my mouth shut. She gave me a dark look, and that silenced me. "Deep in your thoughts, love?" I whispered, blowing in her ear. She nodded and we entered the school building for our first period, English.

As soon as Bella was seated comfortably on my right, Tanya, the strawberry-blond Queen Bee, approached, swinging her hips wildly.

"Hey, Eddie." Tanya flirted. I supressed a groan of horror.

"Tanya," I said coldly in a detatched voice, hoping she was going to leave. "And don't call me Eddie."

She didn't get my clue. "So, like, how are you?" She said 'seductively'. It sounded like a horse being strangled.

I was so uninterested, I could've died from boredom right then and there. I began playing with Bella's left hand.

Tanya, displeased that I was ignoring her, blurted out suddenly, "Will you go out with me?"

Surprisingly, I laughed. _Laughed._ I had no clue why. "Why would I go out with you when I have my Bella?" I snickered.

"B-But..." Tanya stuttered helplessly. A wave of tear pooled in her eyes. "No one says no when I ask them out!" She ran sobbing uncontrollably out of the classroom, probably to go to the girls' room, pushing an unfortunate and bewildered English teacher away from the door.

The rest of the morning classes were utterly broing.

At lunch, Lauren, Tanya's deputy, swaggered to our table.

"Oh my god, guys. Guess what?" she said in a chipper tone. Alice and Rose kept talking about a new make-up brand. Emmett and Jasper were throwing food at each other. Tony was writing something, with his arm covering it protectively, while Justin ate. And ate. And ate.

Only Bella and I feigned interest.

"I got Vivian Jonas's autograph last night!" Lauren squealed. Tony and Justin's heads snapped up when they heard 'Vivian Jonas' mentioned.

I made a face. "Vivian Jonas?" I repeated, with a disgusted look on my features.

"You dislike her?" Lauren gasped.

"I _don't_ dislike her. I _hate_ her!" I spat angrily. I was sure my green eyes were dark with fury. Bella buried her face in her arms for no reason.

"I also got Anthony Masen's autograph," Lauren gloated, waving her pink cap in Bella's face. "He's just _so_ hott..." I held back a gag.

Her head snapped out of my arms, brown eyes boring a hole in Lauren's dull hazel eyes. "Did you just say _Anthony Masen_?" she snarled.

"Yes, but back off, cause one day, he will be mine," Lauren fantasized.

Bella wasn't thinking about that. "I _hate_ Anthony Masen! He's a no good little cheater..." she ranted on and on.

I was sure my face was crumpled in pain. Bella hated half of me? I wasn't sure if she noticed my expression, so I changed my face into an emotionless mask.

For the rest of the day, we were silent. I didn't dare speak to her, afraid she was upset. FInally, in the parking lot, we couldn't take it anymore.

"Drive safely," she mumbled quietly.

I looked at her for a long time, then sighed. "Bella, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have ignored you. But I actually like Anthony Masen. He's quite a decent guy once you get to know him." Great. Now I was defending myself.

She snorted. "I probably know him better than you do. But I'm sorry too."

I gaev her my famous crooked smile, then leaned forward and captured her warm lips with mine. She wove her fingers in his soft bronze hair, tugging me closer. I couldn't help but moan quietly into her mouth. We made out until Emmett and Adam decided to interrupt.

"Gosh, guys! Get a room!" Justin yelled at the same time Emmett howled, "Are you guys really gonna go at it in the school parking lot?"

"Sorry Justin, Emmett," I gasped out breathlessly. Bella didn't say anything.

All eight of us stared at each other. "Awkwarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrd!!" Justin exclaimed his oh-so-famous quote out of nowhere.

We all left, and I couldn't help but wonder how I was ever going to tell Bella that I was her least favorite popstar.

* * *

**Justin's Short POV (WARNING: POINTLESS AND STUPID)**

La la la la la...

"Bells! Are you done yet?" I screamed up the wide spiral staircase. I heard her groan. Bella always said I sounded childish, but come on...get real.

I ran up the stairs, down the hallway, and to her bedroom door. I began boxing with the door. "Die, you piece of wood! Die!"

"JUSTIN!" Bella roared. She wretched open the door and ducked as my fist almost connected with her face. Oops. Oh well. La la la...Innocence...

"Sorry," I said sheepishly, rubbing my head. Whatever. La la...

"You interrupted a romantic phone call from my boyfriend!" Bella yelled in my face, smacking me hard on the head with a pillow.

I cowered under her furious glare. "Sorry," I whimpered.

I was hit again. God! Some forgiveness would be nice! "MOMMY!" I howled for my mommy. "Bella hit me!" I was hit _again_. What was up with this girl?

Paul yelled up the stairs, "Grow up, Joe!" That was an insult!

"I am grown up! I'm already eighteen!" I snapped. I stuck my tongue out in my older brother's direction, just for good measure. You know, good luck.

"Dimwit," Bella muttered. "You are sooooo sad." What?!

"No I'm not! I'm happier than--hey!" Did she just call me a name? "I'm not a dimwit! MOMMY! Bella's calling me names!" I howled. La la la...

* * *

**Author's Note-YES! My longest chapter in my history of chapters!**

**I LOVE JUSTIN! He's so cute, and I purposefully made him a bit absent-minded. Tell me if something I wrote got you confused. (Or, as my sister says, "Confuzzled.")**

**PLEASE REVIEW! Whoever does gets to keep anyone in this story.**


	3. Surprise

**Author's Note-Okay, I'm updating, cause my sis is hogging Breaking Dawn like she owns it. (Come to think of it, she does, but that doesn't matter.) So, I tried to read one chapter of it and she blew my head off.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of the very **_**hott**_** (with a double T) characters (coughEdwardcough).**

* * *

Chapter 3

Surprise

**Bella's POV**

The next day was Saturday. Edward was on my doorstep bright and early. Well, more like he snuck in my window last night.

_-Flashback-_

_I pulled open my window and took several deep breaths of fresh air. Then, I reached up to pull down the latch that closed the winodw. But, a small voice in the back of my head told me to keep it open, so I did._

_I was all snuggled up in bed and about to fall asleep when I felt a slight weight on my mattress. I brushed it off as my imagination._

_That is, until I felt warm lips nibbling playfully at the skin on my neck. I had to hold in a scream of terror._

_"Did I scare you?" he whispered in my ear, an arm wrapping around my waist. I nodded and just ran a hand through his hair to mess it up._

_"Hey!" he whisper-yelled. "I work hard to tame my hair!" I just giggled and ruffled it even more. He sighed and pouted cutely._

_We exchanged a couple of sloppy kisses and "I love you"s. Then, we fell asleep in each other's arms._

_-End of Flashback-_

"I want to take you somewhere," he breathed as soon as I was finished with breakfast and decently dressed. I agreed eagerly, happy to be where he was.

We went into Edward's shiny silver Volvo and he zoomed off to God knows where. I wasn't panicking until he pulled up in the middle of nowhere. All there was around us was trees. Just trees.

"Edward!" I yelped, starting to hyperventilate. "What did you take me here for?! You know I have the sense of direction of a teaspoon!"

"Hush, love. I know where we're going," he soothed me.

With that, he took my arm and started to lead me in a random direction. Or at least it was random to me. _He_ seemed to know where we were going.

We tromped on aimlessly for about half an hour until there was a break in the suffocating trees. Sunlight shone brightly on a lush green meadow where flowers of every kind waved in the gentle breeze.

"Wow," I gasped. "It's beautiful."

"Like you," he answered, his breath blowing sweetly across skin. He bit my earlobe innocently and my heart spluttered frantically as his tongue flicked out and casually licked the spot his teeth were on a second ago. He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear.

We lay in the grass for the rest of the day, pointing out cloud shapes and acting like children.

The sun began to set, and we sat up to watch the red sky become bloody. Edward plucked a pretty flower with white petals and pink tints toward the center. He smelled it and then tucked it in my hair.

"Freesia," he told me. "It smells just like you."

"And how do you know how I smell?" I asked coyly.

He grinned a fake cocky smile and purred in a husky voice. "I watch you every night from your closet. You're interesting."

I gaped at him. "You watch me? What are you? A stalker?" I teased.

He blushed. Blushed! Edward Cullen actually blushed! The hints of pink on his cheeks was adorable. "I didn't mean to let that slip," he mumbled.

We didn't speak anymore. When the last rays of the setting sun were finally disapperaing, he shoved his hands in the pocket of his jeans.

The sight that greeted me next was unbelievable.

Edward pulled out a small black velvet box and knelt in front of me on one knee. "Isabella Marie Swan," he began, looking at me from beneath his eyelashes. His eyes smoldered with love and desire. "I've loved you since the moment my eyes landed on you. You have been my sister, my friend, my lover. There is no other wish in my heart than to make you mine for the rest of eternity. Bella, will you marry me?"

I just stood there and stared at him. Worry started to cloud in his eyes, so I just forced out, "Yes."

He let out a joyous shout and picked me up, twirling me in his arms. We laughed together and shared a passionate kiss that expressed all our love. He slid the sparkling ring onto my finger.

"Thank you," he gasped, breathless from excitment. I smiled and lean my head against his shoulder. "The wedding's after college," he assured me.

We spent the next hour gazing at each other wordlessly, lost in our own thoughts. Finally, he told me that we had to go home.

Edward swung me easily onto his back , despite my protests, after I refused to climb on. He ran through the forest and we were back at his Volvo in ten mintues. He gave me a chaste kiss and pushed me gently into the car before he slid into the passenger's seat.

"Will I see you tonight?" I asked when we were parked in front of my house. Fortunately, Vivian had no concerts. Thank God.

He nodded. "Yes. Keep your window open."

"By the way, you never told me how you get into my room to spy on me," I reminded him.

The rare blush was back on his pale cheeks. "Window." Was all he said, then he leaned over and peck me sweetly on the lips.

I stumbled into the kitchen and leaned against the counter for support. I admired the diamonds on my new engagment ring, turning it and letting it hit the light to send out rainbows.

My cell-phone rang, the ringtone obnoxiously loud. I checked the caller ID. Alice. Oh boy.

"Alice?" I said calmly.

"Bella!" she screeched. "Where are you?!"

"Alice, I'm--"

"Are you okay?!" she cut me off.

"Yes I--" I tried to get in.

"Who are you with?!"

"Edward. He left--"

"Oh, so my dear brother Edward knew where you were and he didn't bother to tell me?!"

"Alice, chill--"

"Oh don't tell me to chill, Isabella Marie Swan!" she snapped.

"Edward--"

"I demand you to tell me what happened!"

"Why should I?" I teased.

"Tell me or I'll scream!"

"Edward proposed to me, okay?!" I yelled back.

"..." Silence on the other end.

Oh boy. Get ready to plug your ears. As I thought, Alice started to scream and she sounded like she was short of breath. I thought that she wasn't going to scream if I told her but no, Alice Cullen screams anyway!

"WHAT?!" she screamed. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME EARLIER?!"

"I tried to, but you kept interrupting me," I pointed out.

"YOU HAVE TO LET ME DO YOUR WEDDING! PLEASE?!"

"The wedding's not until after college."

"Oh."

"Goodnight," I chirped. She was still stunned, so I shut off the phone without waiting ofr an answer.

I crawled into bed and waited for my boyfriend--no, _fiancee_, to sneak into my room. He came, and we snuggled together under the covers

_I can't believe I'm __engaged__ to Edward Cullen!_ was the last thought I had before I fell asleep.

* * *

**Author's Note-I was going to do Edward's POV of this chapter, but my mom really wants me to get to bed. So, I'll put Edward's POV in the next chapter!**


	4. Engagement

**Author's Note-This is just Edward's point of view of the engagement. Feel free to skip this chapter because there's no action, but I would be happier if you had the time to read it and review. Next stop-Chapter Drama.**

**BUT, there is an extra in this chapter. Just a little competition between Joe and Emmett. Check it out if you want. It's at the bottom of the chappie.**

**I FINALLY FINISHED BREAKING DAWN! WARNING: BD SPOILERS AHEAD! READERS WHO HAVE NOT READ IT YET, SKIP! I can't believe that Irina died! But at least the Volturi will leave the Olympic coven alone. (I like calling them that.) It was an awesome book!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, sadly. -cries and beats up sister- (Sister: "Hey I didn't do anything! What the heck?! Mommy!")**

* * *

Chapter 4

Engagement

**Edward's POV**

I watched my sweetheart pull open the window, then take a few gulps of fresh air. She reached up to close it, and I panicked, but then she stopped for some reason. She turned away and went to bed.

I climbed the wall of the Swan house and hauled myself into Bella's room via the window. She was curled up like a cocoon in bed. I sat on the mattress.

Leaning over, I pressed my mouth to her neck. She jumped ten feet into the air and spun around.

"Did I scare you?" I whispered softly in her ear, wrapping a protective arm around her waist. Her shirt had ridden up a bit; the skin there felt soft and silky. She nodded and mussed my already-tousled hair.

I whisper-yelled so I didn't wake her dad. "Hey! I work hard to tame my hair!" She chuckled and ran her hand through my hair again. I sighed and pouted.

We kissed each other sloppily for a while, then snuggled closer and closed our eyes. Bella fell asleep almost immediately, but I lay awake for most of the night, too excited to sleep. I felt the small box in the pocket of my jeans, and couldn't keep the goofy grin off my face.

Finally, I fell asleep around four in the morning.

The first thing I noticed was the sunlight shining through the open window. I yawned and got up and tried to make breakfast for Bella. _Tried_.

I ended up nearly burning the kitchen.

"Oh, Edward," Bella sighed when she came down and saw the burnt eggs. I gave her a sheepish smile that showed my dimples and she melted.

So, she ended up making her own breakfast. As soon as she was done eating and decently dressed to go outside, I breathed, "I want to take you somewhere." She agreed eagerly.

We both slid into the Volvo and I drove off towards my secret meadow.

While I was driving, I thought. Bella was such a beautiful girl, talented and perfect. Luscious mahogany curls, deep chocolate eyes, skin pale enough to look translucent, but not sickly, rosy cheeks that blushed a million shades of red. And those full, plump red lips, just begging for me to kiss them. How could such an angel love me?

I pulled up at the end of the trail, and Bella seemed to snap out of her thoughts. She looked around, and I saw her breath quicken in panic.

"Edward!" I yelled, her breath coming in quick little gasps now. I was sure she was going to pass out soon. "What did you take me here for?! You know I have the sense of direction of a teaspoon!"

I was quick to reassure her. "Hush, love. I know where we're going." It seemed to appease her a bit, but her eyes still held a wild look to them.

I gently took her arm and led her through the trees, going northeast into the forest. Soon, trees spread out in every direction. But I knew the path well; I'd been to the meadow many times.

Half an hour later, we stepped into my meadow. The tall grass seemed comforting and wildflowers bloomed in an unorganized pattern.

Bella gasped, her eyes going wide. "Wow," she breathed. "It's beautiful."

"Like you," I whispered in her ear, my breath whooshing over the supple skin of her throat. I absent-mindedly nibbled on her earlobe, then licked the spot. Bella's heart pounded in her chest, blood racing in her veins. I tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Look," I said. "Doesn't that cloud look like a lamb?" I pointed to said cloud.

"No," Bella giggled. "It looks like lion."

"I disagree. See, it has a fluffy body."

"No, that's a mane. Oh, look at that one! It's a daisy!" Bella seemed to be having a wonderful time, and I was happy when she was.

I laughed softly. "Yea. And that one's a house."

We lazed in the grass until sunset, when we sat up. I plucked a single freesia flower and smelled it, inhaling the sweet scent. I tucked the white and pink flower in Bella's hair, behind her ear.

I smiled at her. "Freesia. It smells just like you."

And how do you know how I smell?" she asked me coyly.

I gave her a false cocky smile and said huskily, "I watch you every night from your closet. You're interesting." As soon as those words slipped out of me, I wanted to slap my hand over my big mouth.

"You watch me? What are you? A stalker?" Bella teased.

I blushed furiously. Wait! I blushed? I never blush! "I didn't mean to let that slip," I muttered.

As the last tints of red faded on the horizon, I pushed my hand into my jeans pocket, feeling excitement bubble in my gut and a lump of eagerness rose in my throat. Mountain lions--not butterfies-- attacked my stomach.

I pulled out the black velvet box and slid to one knee in front of my beloved. "Isabella Marie Swan," I began, staring up at her through my eyelashes, a trick I knew that almost always made her melt into a puddle. "I've loved you since the moment my eyes landed on you. You have been my sister, my friend, my lover. There is no other wish in my heart than to make you mine for the rest of eternity. Bella, will you marry me?"

She just stood there and stared at me, her small mouth open and her eyes wide as saucers. Maybe I had proposed too early? Maybe Bella didn't want to marry me? Worries swirled in my head, making me dizzy.

Finally, she said, "Yes."

It was as if the world had exploded at that moment. Fireworks lit up in my eyes, and the meadow disappeared. I could almost see us on our wedding day, her gliding down the aisle and me waiting for her on the alter. Purple elephants could've fallen out of the sky in pink tutus and I wouldn't have noticed.

I shouted joyfully and picked her up, twirling her in my arms. We laughed happily and kissed passionately, pouring all our love and joy into that one kiss. I slid Elizabeth Masen's wedding ring on her finger. My true mother's ring. I was the only adopted one in the family.

"Thank you," I gasped, love saturating my tone. But what if Bella didn't want to get married early? "The wedding's after college," I told her.

We sat in my--no, _our_--meadow, gazing wordlessly at each other and lost in our own little worlds.

"We have to go home," I said finally, breaking the comfortable silence. Bella pouted cutely, but I stood my ground using a lot of self control.

When we got back to her house, she turned to look at me through her lashes. "Will I see you tonight?" she whispered, her breath blowing across my face and stunning me momentarily. I internally shook my head.

"Yes," I decided. "Keep your window open."

"By the way, you never told me how you get into my room to spy on me," Bella reminded me. I almost blushed again.

"Window," was all I said. Then I kissed her softly.

* * *

**Meanwhile...**

"I challenge you to an eating contest!" Emmett declared to Justin.

"You're on!" Justin shouted.

Alice brought out trays and trays of food. Oysters, beans, fruits, veggies, chicken, steak...every edile thing you can name was there. Jasper sat at the head of the table like a king and said, "On your mark, get set..."

"Hurry up!" Emmett roared.

Jasper shot him a dirty look. "Go!"

Immediately, the two boys started stuffing their faces with food.

Emmett was leading, two plates of shrimp ahead. But soon, Justin gained a plate, devouring three strips of bacon before his opponent. The race was very close, one person pulling in front of the other before the other overtook.

Finally, Justin shoved his last lobster into his big mouth and shouted through the mouthful of food, "Ah wi! You loo, Ebbit!"

"Ew, Justin. Talk when you don't have food in your mouth," Paul scolded.

Ten minutes later, Tony piped up, "Hey bro, don't you look a little green...?"

"Yea," Paul said.

"Definitely," Alice and Jasper observed at the same time.

"Totally," Rosalie commented, looking up from her nail polish to scrutinize Justin.

"I don't feel so good..." Justin said before clutching his stomach and running off to the bathroom.

"HA HA HA HA HA!" Emmett howled, laughing so hard he nearly wet his pants. Or maybe he did, but no one noticed. Either way, Justin came out looking much better and drinking a glass of water.

"I wouldn't laugh if I were you," he said calmly.

Emmett was still rolling on the ground, clutching his sides when he suddenly stopped short. A weird color invaded his face.

"Whoa," Jasper whispered to his wife. "That cannot be healthy."

Then, without an explanation, Emmett ran off towards the bathroom.


	5. Author's Note

**Removed author's note that no longer concerns you. Please skip onto the next chapter if there is one. Thank you.**

**-Crazy Twilight Lover**


	6. Contract

**Author's Note: Okay, I'm going to tell that person to get lost. Thank you all who reviewed and told me to stay strong and keep writing. I'm going to listen to you guys and keep His Emerald Eyes. Please R &R!**

**Today, I was grading papers (my algebra teacher loves me) with my old crush, whom I got over six months ago. It was **_**awkward!**_** And it feels so weird to be singing Deck the Halls in September...we're getting ready for our Christmas concert.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, but the brilliant Stephenie Meyer does. Man, I have to thank her one day for creating such a fascinating universe WITH Edward Cullen...:D**

* * *

Chapter 5

Contract

"You're kidding right?" Alice squealed.

"No," Bella sighed.

"Really?!"

"Yes."

"Oh my god!" she shrieked like a dying banshee and jumped around the room. Tall, fair haired Jasper sent Bella an apologetic glance and clapped a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. He followed his girlfriend, uprighting fallen lamps that were knocked over and putting furniture in the right place. Alice was still screaming over the news. "Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" she chanted.

Just then, a blond bombshell sauntered through the door, took one look at the bouncing blur of black hair, and turned to the distressed brunette with a curious twinkle in her icy blue eyes.

Alice squealed, _again_, and launched herself at Rose, hugging her and still screaming her head off.

"Edward proposed to me," Bella said.

Rosalie screamed too and threw herself at Bella, hugging her fiercely, with little Alice clinging with tiny hands like a small doll to Bella's waist. "That's great news!" Rosalie shouted.

Emmett then made his grand entrance, asking what all the squawking was about. If she were not so occupied with congratulating her best friend, Rose would have slapped him for saying she was "squawking". The two excited girls told him, and he enveloped Bella in one of his famous bone-crushing bear hugs.

Edward walked through the door at that moment, and Rose and Alice pulled him into an uncomfortable group hug.

"So you're an engaged man, huh Eddie?" Emmett boomed, reaching over and rumpling Edward's already-messy bronze hair.

Edward scowled playfully, patting his hair back down. "Don't call me Eddie. And it's not my fault you haven't popped the question yet to Rose." He added a sly, sideways glance out of the corner of his eye at the tall blond girl, who was fuming and shooting daggers with her eyes at her boyfriend. That wiped the wide, silly smirk clean off Emmett's face and made him cringe.

Edward, Bella, Alice, and Jasper all laughed heartily.

Now, they seemed like a happy family joking and sharing stories with each other. But Edward and Bella's relationship would soon change. Sooner than they thought. And it would not be for the better...

**Bella's POV**

I groaned quietly. Why, oh why, did my manager choose today of all days to call me to an "emergency meeting"? I had to cancel my date with Edward in order to come. Strangely, he didn't seem too sad that I was canceling. In fact, her seemed rather relieved.

I grabbed my contacts, my wig, and a change of clothes. And my precious Ferrari car keys.

I grinned as the engine purred to life, stroking the dashboard with lovingness. It was the only thing that could cheer me up after Alice gives me a horrendous make-over. (Besides Edward)

I drove quickly to Seattle, where my manager's office was. I parked the car, pulled on my fake identity, and hurried into the building.

There was a curly-haired brunette secretary sitting behind her desk, typing gingerly and slowly on her computer with her inch long red nails and smacking loudly on her gum.

"Excuse me," I called out. I looked at the name plate on the desk. "Miss Jessica Stanley."

Jessica looked at me with eyes heavily coated with mascara, eyeliner, and eye-shadow. "Yes?" she asked rudely, popping a pink bubble in my face.

I took a step back and said, "I'm here for the meeting with Mr. Brown."

"Who are you?" she sneered.

"Vivian Jonas," I shot back.

Her face registered chock, then she composed herself and pointed down the hall. "Go down the hall, to the left, and down another hall. There will be another secretary waiting there for you."

"Thank you," I said coldly.

"You're welcome," she retorted.

I walked down the hall, my heels clicking loudly and echoing in the empty, cavernous corridor. Finally, I came upon another girl, who had light brown hair with natural honey tint. Her eyes were a warm brown color, and she smiled sweetly at me. "Hello, Vivian Jonas. I'm Angela Weber, and Mr. Brown told me to let you in as soon as you came. Go down that hall, make a right, and he's the last door on the left. Go ahead." Her voice was kind.

"Thank you Angela," I said softly, very different to how I said thank-you to Jessica. Angela blushed and looked down. "I've never worked with a celebrity as famous as you before," she mumbled.

I laughed quietly. "I have a feeling that you and I will be great friends."

"Thanks," she whispered.

I walked down the halls again, my step confident. I rested my left hand against the doorknob, ready to turn it when a ray of light fell on my finger.

My engagement ring glittered like a thousand stars, and in that instant, I became afraid. Bella was engaged, but Vivian wasn't. I reluctantly pulled off my ring and put it in my pocket. Then, I pushed open the door.

I walked in and sat down comfortably in front of manager's desk. "Wait for a while, Viv," he said calmly. "We have a guest today."

My mind spun with all the questions I wanted to ask. Who was this special guest? Was it a girl? A boy? Would I like him or her? Did I know them?

No more than twenty minutes later, the door opened again to revel no other than...

Anthony Masen.

My jaw dropped and I whirled around angrily, glaring at Mr. Brown, who flinched slightly. "You invited Anthony Masen here as a special guest?" I hissed out through locked jaws.

"His manager and I made a deal. We just have to tell you guys today."

"What is it?" I huffed.

Mr. Brown gestured for Anthony and his manager to sit down next to me. I scooted away from my sworn enemy. We were trying to glare each other down, having a type of scowling contest.

"This is Mr. Ray," my manager introduced the balding man to me. I nodded courteously, but said nothing.

"We found out that the public is dying for a good story about you two. Both of you. So, we made a deal, working together to make the public go wild with stories about you," Mr. Ray started.

"So what is the story?" Anthony asked calmly.

Mr. Brown smiled at him. "You two will be the next celebrity couple. You, Anthony, will be the 'boyfriend' of Vivian. And you, Vivian, will be the 'girlfriend' of Anthony. You will hold hands, smile, hug, and kiss in public. Got that?"

I think my jaw really hit the floor this time. The last thing I saw was Mr. Brown's happy face before everything went black.

* * *

**Edward's POV**

I paced around my room. Mr. Ray had told me that I needed to come with him to Seattle for an important meeting, but I promised Bella I would bring her to the meadow again today. Suddenly, my phone rang obnoxiously. Loudly too.

BELLA flashed across the screen. I sucked in a deep breath. She was probably going to hate me for this. Disguising my distress, I picked up. "Hello?"

"Edward?" Bella's soft voice reached my ears, making everything wash out of my brain but the angel's song that was my name coming from her lips.

"Yes, Bella?" I murmured.

She sighed. Did she know something was bothering me? "I can't go on the date today. I have to clean the house."

A wave of relief washed over me, followed by guilt. I shouldn't be happy my girlfriend canceled. But she had done for me what I was too chicken to do. "That's okay, Bella. It's really busy here, too."

"You're not mad at me?"

"No. I can never be mad at you. I completely understand that you have to clean." More like I'm grateful you dumped me.

"Okay. I really have to go. Good-bye."

It was my turn to sigh. "Goodnight, sweetheart. I love you."

"Love you too."

I hung up and ran a frustrated hand through my hair, making it stick up slightly. I grabbed my "Anthony things" such as celeb clothes, wig, contacts, celeb shoes, and celeb car keys.

I pulled on my wig, put in my contacts, and changed my clothes. The wig was uncomfortable and itchy, but I lived with it. I snuck out the back door so no neighbors would see me, then started my Aston Martin and backed out of the drive.

I sped at thirty miles above the speed limit to my manager's office. Without even turning off my car, I ran into the building and called for him.

Mr. Ray hobbled out of the building on stiff legs and clambered clumsily into the passenger seat of my car. His health really was not good.

I zoomed to Seattle, listening to old Ray ramble about some deal he made with this person called Mr. Brown. I was not interested and tuned him out.

Pulling into the parking lot, I noticed a very familiar black Ferrari parked under the shade of a tree. I parked next to it, curious about the car. I remembered seeing it somewhere before, but as soon as I had a clue, it slipped away, leaving my mind blank as ever.

Mr. Ray walked over to my side of the car, took my arm, and proceeded to drag me over to the building. On the way, he tripped over a tiny rock.

I did the only thing I could think of doing. I caught him, grabbing his arms. I came very close to the Ferrari and as I inhaled, I caught the sweet scent of strawberries, freesia, and lavender. My mouth instantly watered, but I shook my head to clear away the foggy haze in my mind.

I ended up being the one to drag my manager into the huge building. While he stared off into space, I turned to the secretary.

She had wildly curly brown hair, too much make-up, and inch long red nails. They were probably the reason why she was typing with such care.

"Excuse me miss," I called.

"Hold on a moment. Can't you see I'm working here?" she retorted rudely.

She spun around, saw my face, and took a sharp intake of breath. Here we go again. The secretary instantly became sweet. She batted her mascara clumped eyelashes and smiled widely. I caught a glimpse of something pink between her front two teeth.

"Well hello sir," she purred.

I frown. "I'm Anthony Masen, called for a very important meeting with--" I suddenly realized I had no clue who I was meeting with.

I turned and prodded Mr. Ray, who was muttering furiously about calculators and dogs. "Who are we meeting with?" I asked.

"Caterpillars are purple. No, they're blue," he answered.

I poked him again. "Who are we meeting with?" I asked louder.

"Huh?"

"Who are we meeting with?" I asked as patiently as I could. I was quickly running out of patience.

"Mr. Brown," he muttered. "Magenta monkeys swing from vines like Tarzan..."

I turned back to the secretary. "Miss--"

"Call me Jessica," she said flirtatiously.

"Alright. Jessica, I have an urgent meeting with Mr. Brown."

"Go down the hall, make a right, and go down another hall. Angela will be waiting for you." Her faced twisted with disgust.

I hurried away, towing my manager behind me. He seemed to have woken up out of his daze. "Excuse me Mister!" Jessica called to me. I groaned and walked back to her. "You forgot your receipt."

Since when did secretaries give receipts? I flipped it over while walking back to Mr. Ray waiting patiently at the end of the hall. On the back was written this:

_Jessica Stanley_

_(246)801-3579_

_Call me anytime, babe._

My eyes widened and i shoved the offending paper into the nearest trashcan I could find.

Soon, I could see the Angela girl. She was slender and tall, with warm brown eyes and light honey-brown hair. She pointed wordlessly in the direction I had to go in. I nodded my thanks.

I pushed open the door to revel...

Vivian Jonas.

My nostrils flared, teeth came together, and my hands balled into fist. So it was going to be like that. Mr. Ray had better have a good excuse as to why he dragged me to meet my sworn enemy.

Her jaw was dropped and she whirled around to glare at the man behind the desk. He flinched slightly. "You invited Anthony Masen here as a special guest?" she hissed. She sounded like part angry tiger, part poisonous cobra.

"His manager and I made a deal. We just have to tell you guys today," the man who was probably Mr. Brown said.

"What is it?" Vivian huffed. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms and legs.

Mr. Brown gestured for me and my manager to sit down next to her. I scooted away from my Vivian, and she moved away from me. We were glaring at each other, having a private sort of glowering contest.

"This is Mr. Ray," Mr. Brown introduced the calm man to Vivian. She nodded stiffly, but kept her lips sealed shut.

"We found out that the public is dying for a good story about you two. Both of you. So, we made a deal, working together to make the public go wild with stories about you," Mr. Ray started.

"So what is the story?" I asked airily. My exterior was calm, but my interior was screaming at me that something disastrous was going to happen.

Mr. Brown smiled at me. "You two will be the next celebrity couple. You, Anthony, will be the 'boyfriend' of Vivian. And you, Vivian, will be the 'girlfriend' of Anthony. You will hold hands, smile, hug, and kiss in public. Got that?"

Vivian looked like someone socked her in the gut. He mouth opened in a perfect little O. Not that I was attracted to her. I couldn't be attracted to her, right? I already had a fiancee.

Vivian's body became limp and she fainted, right into my surprised arms.

Mr. Brown and Mr. Ray both chuckled nervously. "Well, that went well, didn't it?"

* * *

**Author's Note-And, that's the end of Chapter 5. I promise that in chapter 6, there will be the real drama! All the action will be from there on. I made this chapter extra long for all you cool people. Please review! Let's try to make it 100 reviews, okay? If not, then, oh well. What's done is done. I am currently putting all my energy into His Emerald Eyes. Like I said, please review!**


	7. Public

****

Author's Note-I have good news and bad news. The good news is, I'm putting all my efforts into His Emerald Eyes, Ways To Piss Off Emmett Cullen, and I Hate How Fate Plays With My Heart. The bad new is for the readers that like my stories other than those three. I will put those on hold until I finish the three I just mentioned. Hope you're not disappointed! (And please don't come at me with pitchforks!)

**IMPORTANT: For those of you who already read the first couple chapters, I changed Bella's brother's names. Joe is Justin, Nick is Tony, and Kevin is Paul, and they're Swans, and her cousins. Bella isn't related to the Jonas Brothers just because her last name is the same as theirs.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. And I forgot to mention that this is totally an alternate universe story.**

* * *

Chapter 6

Public

**Bella's POV**

Most seventeen-year-old girls who found themselves walking hand in hand with a gold-eyed blond-haired boy would have been literally floating on clouds. Me? Not so much.

Especially since the boy I was holding hands with was none other than my sworn enemy.

Cool, right? Right, life is just peachy. (Note the heavy sarcasm.)

I was wearing a gold and pink _tight_ shirt forced on by Alice, a short jean mini-skirt, black leggings, and three inch black heels my friends insisted I wear.

As soon as we stepped out of our limo, we were attacked by the paparazzi. I swear I was blinded by all the camera flashes going off. Reporters were swarming around us, shoving microphones rudely into our faces. You'd think I'd get used to it, but I seemed to have lost my ability to do that.

Anthony just waved them off, at least the females. He just smiled brightly at them, asked them to leave, and I could see all of them swooning.

Which was another reason why I hated him. Stupid charming handsome celebrity.

Wait! Hold up! Did I just call _Anthony Masen_ a _handsome guy_?! My brain is turning to mush.

While I was busy screaming at myself for calling him handsome, Anthony had towed me onto a less busy street in Seattle and was now dragging me through crowds that would either part for us or attack us for autographs.

I seriously need to get a good bodyguard.

We were out for our first public "date", after a huge tantrum from me and a couple scowls from Anthony, which he directed at our managers. They were so eager to get us kicked out of their office, to get the media all excited. Like a mother bird shooing her chicks out of the nest.

Passerby seemed to find it appropriate to ogle our tightly interlocked hands. I hissed when he squeezed my fingers too hard.

"You idiot!" I snarled. "Why do you have to hold onto me so tightly! My fingers are about to lose circulation!"

He glared back at me. "Sorry," he retorted.

"Apology accepted," I snapped. His fingers loosened around mine reluctantly.

At first, all we did was wander around, doing nothing. Window shopping occasionally when we saw something that interested us. Anthony seemed to be mesmerized with a huge, ancient, polished grand piano. He beckoned me into the store, and went inside.

"You play?" I asked, surprised. The piano reminded me of Edward and the way he loved to play his. Anthony was more like Edward then I ever dreamed.

Anthony nodded. "I love piano. I've been taking lessons since I was seven, and quit when I was twelve. Basically, I taught myself how to play after that. I'm also a composer." I was right, he was a lot like Edward.

He sat at the piano, stroking its ivory keys lovingly. I watched, fascinated, as he began to play.

The piece was sad, melancholy, with a hint of darkness in it. As his fingers rolled gently over the keys, I closed my eyes, savoring the sound of the downcast notes. This guy could give my boyfriend a run for his money.

After the last note was played, we stood awkwardly, avoiding each others eyes.

Were we to go back to hating each other, after that close bond the piano forged between us? Somehow, the music had brought us closer together. Did anything change? Or was everything still the same?

Exiting the store, I thought I caught a glimpse of a shy smile on his face.

For the rest of the day, he showed me the cute, sweet, non-arrogant side of him. And I really liked it. I think I started to fall for him about that time.

At lunch time, we went to a small coffee store that served sandwiches and tea. We joked around there, sipping and eating the tiny snacks. It was tons of fun, and I started to dread the day coming to a close. I know, I'm paranoid, right?

Maybe I was just too occupied. Maybe I was having so much fun. Anyhow, I forgot all about Edward.

We stopped by a gymnastics practicing place, and my eyes lit up. I loved gymnastics!

Anthony allowed me to go inside, following me calmly. I scrambled gracefully onto the balancing beam, praying that my mini, tight skirt wouldn't rip (If it did, Alice would so kill me.) and starting warming up a bit by doing a few tricks and elegant flips. My date watched in awe, his eyes glazed over slightly and a longing, distant look on face.

Confused, I got off the beam and went to him. "Anthony, are you alright?"

He snapped out of his trance, shaking his head a bit wearily. "Yea, I'm alright. Let's go." He took my hand again and pulled me from the gym.

Anthony invited me to an amusement park. I agreed, not knowing the price for admission. When we got there, we were again attacked by the press.

Someone set a very large video-taper on the ground and pointed it at us. Uh-oh. I gulped. Another interview.

A lady with too much make-up on jumped right in front of the video-taper and started speaking rapidly. "Here we have the top female vocalist of this year, Vivian Jonas, and her current boyfriend, the one and only hottie, Anthony Masen!" There were loud cheers from girls in the background.

"So, how did you get to know each other?" the lady asked, shoving her mic into our faces.

Anthony took a deep breath before he replied, "We met in at one of our concerts and hit it off. End of story."

But she seemed to find other interesting stuff. "Vivian, aren't you going out with the hot-shot from the movie _Dark Angel_?" she said.

I smiled a bit and shook my head. "No, I'm not going out with anybody. My heart belongs to Anthony, and Anthony only." Lie. I loved Edward.

"Have you two gone on any dates yet?"

"Today is our first date. It was made official a week ago, and I've been busy looking for the perfect place for my angel."

"How is life now that you have a girlfriend?"

He paused. "It's...nice. It's kinda sweet having a girl to cuddle with." Why was his answer so vague?

"If you don't mind, we have somewhere to go," I interrupted softly. The woman made a face at me, but the camera didn't catch it. She then proceeded to bat her eyelashes at Anthony, giving him a seductive smirk. I glared daggers at her. We might not really be going out, but don't you think it's rude to flirt with a girl's date when she's right in front of you?

Before I knew what was happening, the camera crew had packed up, the crowd had thinned considerably, and Anthony was dragging me to the amusement park that was located closest to us.

He basically towed me over to the admission stand. The man there ogled me like I was a piece of fresh, rare meat.

Anthony cleared his throat, and was it me, or was there really a flare of jealousy in his eyes? "Two tickets please."

The man nodded and printed out our tickets, all the while not tearing his eyes away from me. Anthony cleared his throat again, glaring at the man. He handed us the tickets, and Anthony leaned forward to speak privately to him. The man flinched.

I watched Anthony hand the man fifty dollars. "No! That's way too much! I'm paying!" I demanded.

He grinned at me. "No you're not." With one hand, he held me back, arm wrapped tightly around my waist. With the other hand, he pushed the money to the man. I pouted at him, and he pouted right back adorably, his eyes wicked. My resolve melted.

We walked into the amusement park, and Anthony was all happy-go-lucky sunshine boy again. His grin was dazzling.

"Which ride do you want to go on first?" he asked me happily.

I couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm. "Can we see the games?"

"Sure," he answered. We walked over to the arcades section of the theme park, and I watched quietly as Anthony won a game of basketball. I smiled as he placed a huge white stuffed animal snow leopard in my outstretched arms.

"Like it?"

"Yea! Thanks!"

"Where do you want to go to next?" he asked me, all smiles.

"The Ferris Wheel."

"No problem." We made our way to the line, with people throwing offers at us, telling us we could go directly to the front of the line. We politely declined, waiting patiently for our turn.

The people working the Ferris Wheel stared too long at us, then gave us the best car. When we were at the top, Anthony looked nervously at me. "Are you afraid of heights?"

I shook my head, hugging my snow leopard to my chest. He sat next to me, watching me with an unfathomable expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" I murmured after a tense silence, placing a hand on top of his.

His lips pulled up half-heartedly in a sad, crooked smile. It reminded me, yet again, of my boyfriend. Oh my god! What a horrible girlfriend I was! I forget all about my boyfriend and cheated on him!

_Though technically, it's not like you and Anthony are really dating,_ my brain told me.

_It's still cheating!_ The guilty part of me screamed.

"Are you okay?" It took me a moment to notice that the ride had ended and Anthony was gently shaking me out of my daze.

"Yeah," I breathed. I didn't think I could hide the hint of guiltiness in my voice, for he looked at me strangely.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Anthony. I'm sure I'm fine."

" 'kay. Just making sure." Then, his eyes lit up at the ice-cream stand. He pointed to it and begged, "Can we have one?" My strong, serious pretend-date suddenly sounded like a little kid. I caught sight of dimples on his cheeks. Awww...how adorable!

We ended up buying ice-cream and having dinner at a Greek restaurant that had five-star food. When we were done, Anthony patted his stomach like Emmett and sighed contentedly.

"Do you want me to take you home?" he asked me.

Uh-oh. If he took me home, then he would know my address. "Um, no, it's okay. I uh, have my car in my manager's parking lot."

"I'll bring you there." So he did. When I was inside my car, he tapped on the window and called sweetly, "I'll follow you home to make sure you're okay."

I cursed him internally. Of all the times to be sweet, he chose now! "Naw, my um, brother gets, uh,paranoid when he sees strangers."

"Oh, okay then." He walked back to his own car, looking a bit dejected, but also possibly a bit relieved.

When I got home, (driving at the speed limit) the first thing I did was make a bee-line for the phone. I dialed Edward's number, feeling the guilt weigh heavily in my stomach.

On the fourth ring, he answered. " 'llo?" he gasped, sounded as if he had sprinted to the phone.

"Hey, Edward. Did I call at the wrong time?"

"No," he panted, still fighting for his breath. "I was just showering, Bells."

I blushed. How convenient. I catch him in the shower. "Sorry. Maybe I should call at another time?"

"No no, don't." He sounded like he was breathing a bit normally again. "I missed you, how was your day?"

I cleared my throat a bit, jittery. I didn't want to have to lie to him "It was...interesting."

"Really? Mine was too."

I spent the rest of the night talking to a certain emerald-eyed boy that I loved.

* * *

**Edward's POV**

Most boys my age who were on a date with a pretty and popular girl such as Vivian Jonas would think they had died and gone to Heaven, considering the way they ogled her in magazines. I, however, was feeling much different.

It just so happens that Vivian Jonas is also my worst enemy.

Doesn't God just love me? What did I ever do to have such an honor bestowed upon my humble soul? (Note the heavy sarcasm!)

Jasper and Emmett seemed to find pure delight in the fact that I was going on my first date with Vivian Jonas. They forced me into a black collared shirt, dark jeans, and pretty cool sneakers, saying I had to "dress to impress". I didn't really see what was so great about her.

It was like everything was going in slow motion. The limo door opened, we stepped out, and people swarmed around us like ants on an unattended feast. Cameras clicked, people were shouting, and dozens of microphones were pushed into our faces. I hated all this fame.

Turning, I saw that Vivian looked disgusted and just as annoyed as me. So I decided to pay her a favor.

Females constantly threw themselves at me, and I waved them off nonchalantly. With something as simple as a well-practiced charming smile, they back away at my will. Girls were too easy. At least, some girls, I thought, with a look at Vivian.

She had an intense frown on her face, and she was glaring at the sidewalk. I wonder what I did to offend her.

I tugged on her hand, but she was unresponsive. When I tugged again, she still didn't move. She looked too lost in thought to acknowledge me. So I took it upon myself to drag her down the streets. Some people parted around us as if we were contagious or like Moses parting the Red Sea. Others bunched together and begged (I mean literally _begged_) for an autograph.

I was seriously considering getting a bodyguard.

Our first public date as Anthony Masen and Vivian Jonas, the couple. So what? I didn't care. But I heard that thousands of girls were envious of Vivian and thousands of boys wanted to murder me for taking their future "wife". Pathetic. Mr. Brown and Mr. Ray seemed so excited, so sure that the press would be eager to hear about us. Can you believe they threatened to end our careers if we didn't do this?! I was sure my scowl was enough to kill them.

Every person who walked by us stared for way too long at our entwined hands. Not that I even wanted to touch my enemy, my manager just forced me to. I squeezed her fingers while thinking angry thoughts about Mr. Ray, and she hissed in pain.

"You idiot!" she growled. "Why do you have to hold onto me so tightly! My fingers are about to lose circulation!"

I glared back at her. She had no right to talk to me like that! "Sorry," I snarled.

"Apology accepted," she snapped. I reluctantly loosened my fingers. If that annoyed her, I'd like to do it some more.

When we first started our date, the air was so tense, I could cut it with a knife. We did nothing but wander aimlessly through the endless maze of shops. We window-shopped when something caught our attention. I stared, entranced by the old grand piano sitting in the window of an instrument store. I motioned for her to join me, and headed inside. The man behind the counter looked up when the bell above the door tinkled softly, nodded, then went back to doing whatever he was doing before we came.

"You play?" she asked, surprise coloring her tone. There was a thoughtful look on her face.

I nodded dreamily. "I love piano. I've been taking lessons since I was seven, and quit when I was twelve. Basically, I taught myself how to play after that. I'm also a composer." Why was I telling her all this? Weren't we enemies?

I seated myself at the piano, stroking its ivory keys almost tenderly, as a mother caresses her baby. Vivian watched me, seemingly enthralled with the music that poured out of me.

The piece I played was sad, melancholy, with just a tad of darkness in it. My fingers rolled evenly, effortlessly over the keys, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Vivian close her eyes much like the way Bella did when I played for her. I closed my lids too, letting myself fall in, become a part of the music.

After I was done with my little performance, we stood awkwardly, avoiding each others eyes.

Did we have to hate each other again, or could we be friends? Did anything change between us? Or was everything still the same? My head snapped up when the man behind the counter clapped, saying, "That was marvelous, simply marvelous." Vivian didn't seem to notice.

As we left the store, I angled my head away from her so she wouldn't see the lopsided smile that was plastered to my face. I think she did though.

For the rest of the day, I showed her the real me, the shy, emotional boy. She seemed to like me a bit more after the piano incident. And in return, she showed me the sweet, funny Vivian, and I started to really _really_ like her.

For our small lunch, we went to a small, cozy store that was like a romance tea-time place from the early nineteen-hundreds. We joked around, sipping tea and eating miniature sandwiches. It was, I had to admit, a lot of fun, and I never wanted this date to end, even though it was still one in the afternoon.

Maybe I was just too occupied. Maybe I was having so much fun. Anyhow, I forgot all about Bella.

About two hours after we left the tea place,we came upon a gymnastics training gym, empty save for a few young kids wobbling around on thin beams. Vivian's eyes lit up like beautiful violet jewels.

I told her to go in if she wanted to, and she ran straight to a thin balance beam. She pulled herself gracefully onto it and starting warming up by doing a some magnificent tricks and elegant flips. I watched, awed by her skill. Then, I started to think about Bella, and how she took gymnastics class to improve her balance, and how it seemed to work. I was sure my face held longing on it.

I didn't notice Vivian jumping lithely off the beam and walking over to me. "Anthony, are you alright?" she asked.

I quickly snapped myself out of my momentary trance, shaking my head a bit. "Yea, I'm alright. Let's go." I took her hand again, pulling her outside.

There was nothing else to do, so I invited her to an amusement park. Right before we got there though, Fate plotted against us. The paparazzi popped up out of nowhere again and we were attacked once more by the press.

A burly man with lots of muscle that reminded me slightly of Emmett set a very large camera/video-tapper on the ground and pointed it at us. Uh-oh. I groaned to myself. Another interview. Vivian also looked unhappy.

A very fast speaking lady hopped in front of the camera and said loudly, "Here we have the top female vocalist of this year, Vivian Jonas, and her current boyfriend, the one and only hottie, Anthony Masen!" The girls in the background cheered my name loudly, screaming at the tops of their lungs. I often wondered if they got sore throats in the morning.

"So, how did you get to know each other?" the quick-speaking lady asked, shoving her microphone into our faces.

I took a deep breath, ready to cook up a convincing lie. "We met in at one of our concerts and hit it off. End of story."

But she seemed to think that was too short an answer, and had more questions to bombard us with. "Vivian, aren't you gointout with the hot-shot from the movie _Dark Angel_?" she rambled.

Vivian smiled slightly and shook her head, straight black hair swishing gently. "No, I'm not going out with anybody. My heart belongs to Anthony, and Anthony only." Hmmm...if only she knew about Bella...

"Have you two gone on any dates yet?"

"Today is our first date. It was made official a week ago, and I've been busy looking for the perfect place for my angel," I replied.

"How is life now that you have a girlfriend?"

I paused for a fraction of a second. "It's...nice. It's kinda sweet having a girl to cuddle with." Vivian looked quizzically at me. I wanted Bella. Now. I missed her.

"If you don't mind, we have somewhere to go," Vivian interrupted softly, almost as if she could read my mind. The woman made a face at her, but the camera didn't catch the unpleasant exchange. She then proceeded to bat her obviously fake eyelashes at me, giving me a seductive smirk and biting her lip. Vivian glared daggers at her. We weren't going out, but I could understand why she had such a diastase for the news reporter.

Vivian seemed pretty out of it after that, so I took it upon myself to tow her to the amusement park nearest here.

I literally dragged her over to the admission stand, where you get tickets. The man there ogled Vivian like she was his to undress with his eyes.

I cleared my throat to get his attention. Strangely, I got a flare of an emotion I hadn't felt in a long time. The last time I had felt it was when Mike Newton had flirted with Bella. Jealousy. "Two tickets please."

The man nodded and started to print out our tickets, but refused to stop looking at Vivian as if she were the rarest treat on the Earth that he just _had_ to have. I cleared my throat loudly again, burning a hole through the man's forehead. He handed me the tickets.

I leaned forward to speak privately to him. "You keep your filthy hands and eyes off of her. If you so much as think of her, you're dead," I hissed with venom. The man flinched and nodded.

Vivian watched me hand the man fifty dollars. It took her a while to process the amount of money it was. Then, she exploded. "No! That's way too much! I'm paying!" she demanded.

I grinned at her. So Vivian not only liked gymnastics like Bella, but she was stubborn about money too. "No you're not." With one arm, I securely held her back, the arm wrapped tightly around her curvy waist. With the other hand, I pushed the money to the man. She pouted cutely at me, and I pouted right back, my eyes puppy-like but mischievous. Her resolve wavered and broke.

We walked into the amusement park, and I was feeling in high spirits again, now that the vile man was gone. I couldn't help the wide goofy grin spreading across my face. I looked like a love-sick fool. _Think of Bella!_ I screamed at my heart.

"Which ride do you want to go on first?" I asked her as happily as I could.

She smiled at my cheeriness. "Can we see the games?"

"Sure," I answered. We walked over to the arcades section, and Vivian watched quietly as I skillfully won a simple game of basketball. She smiled as I gave her the huge white stuffed animal snow leopard.

"Like it?" I asked.

"Yea! Thanks!" she squealed. Wow, like Alice.

"Where do you want to go to next?" I asked, smiling at her grins.

"The Ferris Wheel."

"No problem." On the line, people offered to let us cut, but we thought it fair that we wait for our turn instead. So, we stayed patiently at the end of the line, ignoring the not-so-sneaky glances people threw at us.

The workers that boarded the people into the Ferris Wheel ogled for a long time at us, then gave us the best car there was on the ancient thing. When we were at the top, a sudden thought struck me. I looked nervously at Vivian. "Are you afraid of heights?"

She shook her head cutely, hugging her snow leopard to her chest as if it were her precious baby. I sat next to her, watching. If only it was Bella here. Now, with Vivian, I wasn't sure who I liked more. And I felt guilty for "cheating" on Bella, though she may not believe me if I told her who I cheated with.

"What's wrong?" she murmured suddenly after a long, uncomfortable silence, placing a tiny warm hand on top of mine.

I smiled sadly and half-heartedly, using Bella's favorite crooked smile. Speaking of Bella again...

I felt like such a bad boyfriend. I was cheating on Bella, even though I didn't mean to. You know those internal battles where there's an angel on the right shoulder and a devil on the left? I was having one of those moments.

_You and Vivian aren't really dating,_ the devil reassure me. _So it's okay to be doing this._

_It's still cheating! You're even developing feelings for this girl!_ The angel screamed. For once, I wanted to listen to the devil.

_Yay!_ he cheered in my ear.

_Shut up, you two! Go away!_ My brain shouted at them. They disappeared with a "Poof!" and I was left still pondering. I know, I'm going crazy, right?

Before I knew it, the ride was over. Vivian was lost deep in thought. I gently shook her shoulder, trying in vain to wake her from her memories. When that didn't work, I shook harder and spoke in her ear. "Are you okay?"

She blinked, as if coming out of her trance. "Yeah," she breathed. I heard guilt in her voice. Was she feeling guilty for the same reasons as me? I stared at her hard, trying to read answers in her eyes like amethysts.

"Are you sure?" I murmured.

"Yes, Anthony. I'm sure I'm fine."

" 'kay. Just making sure." We desperately needed a change of subject, for I could taste the tenseness in the atmosphere I saw an ice-cream stand and my eyes lit up in delight. I pointed to it and literally begged Vivian, "Can we have one?" She looked at me with a smile on her face. I grinned crookedly at her, then felt a bit guilty again. I had promised Bella that that smile was for her and her only.

We ended up buying ice-cream. "What kind did you get?" Vivian asked me, licking hers.

"Mint chocolate chip," I answered, then grinned. "You've got a drop of vanilla ice-cream on your nose."

She giggled and wiped it away with a napkin. We teased each other for a while, getting our hands and mouths sticky. We went to a Greek restaurant that I adored for dinner, and Vivian learned to love their food. I pushed my chair back and patted my stomach like Emmett does when he's full, sighing softly.

"Do you want me to take you home?" I asked out of nowhere.

"Um, no, it's okay. I uh, have my car in my manager's parking lot," she spluttered. I was too busy admiring how cute she sounded to think about why she was stuttering so much.

"I'll bring you there." I led her to her black Ferrari. When she was inside her car, I tapped gently on the tinted window and called out as sweetly as I could, "I'll follow you home to make sure you're okay."

"Naw, my um, brother gets, uh,paranoid when he sees strangers."

"Oh, okay then." I walked back to my own car, my baby Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, feeling a bit dejected, but also a bit relieved because I really needed to get home and talk to Bella.

I drove home as fast as I could, going way over the speed limit. After jogging through Alice, Rose, and Jasper, I crashed into Emmett. He laughed at me in a booming voice and asked, "How was your date with Vivian?" There was a look of secret in his hazel eyes.

"Fine," I huffed.

The phone started ringing suddenly and I bolted for it before the caller could end the call.

I got there by the fourth ring, and had a feeling that whoever was calling was about to hang up. " 'llo?" I gasped, my lungs feeling like they would burst. I could hear Alice, Rose, Jazz, and Em laughing in the background.

"Hey, Edward. Did I call at the wrong time?" Bella sweet voice floated over the phone.

"No," I panted, still fighting for my breath. I made up the best lie I could in the amount of time I was given. "I was just showering, Bells."

I blushed. Maybe I should have used something different...I could almost see Bella's pink cheeks. "Sorry. Maybe I should call at another time?"

"No no, don't." My breathing was starting to return to normal, and for that, I was grateful. "I missed you, how was your day?"

She cleared her throat a bit, sounding nervous. "It was...interesting." How right. Perfect way to describe my day.

"Really? Mine was too," I answered.

I spent the rest of the night talking to a certain chocolate-eyed girl that I loved.

* * *

**Author's Note-My longest chapter! Whoot! I know it was mostly boring, but I really liked imagining their first date and how they started to fall for each other. Let the drama begin!**

**Please reivew!**


	8. Phone

**Author's Note-Gee, it's been quite a long time since I've updated. If any of you guys reading this happen to like Eragon, please go to my profile and check out my Inheritance Cycle fanfics. There are too less reviews for my taste.**

**I AM SOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! I meant to update a month earlier, but my mother found out about all the time I was spending on the computer and suddenly, Boom! No more computer, girlie! I'm so mad! So right now, my mom is under the illusion that I'm doing an extremely important Powerpoint...which I am, in a way, seeing as all I have to do is pull it up if I want to...(:**

**Disclaimer: Nothing is mine, though I wistfully would like to spend a day ogling Edward Cullen. ;) Here is Chapter 7!**

Chapter 7

Phone

**Bella's POV**

I had a feeling that something weird was going to happen. As in, really weird. Or simply tragic.

There was a gut-feeling wrenching in my stomach all day, screaming at me, popping up whenever I wanted to do something. At lunch, I was positive that the voice (possibly my natural-born instinct) was telling my to throw my phone away.

I mentally squashed it like a bug.

After school, Jasper was lounging on my couch, flipping lazily through channels on my television while his dear girlfriend Alice (May God bless her and may she find great malls to fulfill her dreams in Heaven) was in my room having a major argument with my closet. Or, at least, was attempting to.

"Bellaaaaaaaaaaaa," she whined. "Why don't you wear your celebrity clothes all the time? They look better than _these_!" At the last word, she held up a pair of faded gray sweats.

I rolled my eyes and explained in as patient a voice as I could muster, "Alice, there's something called 'being unnoticed.' I'll attract attention."

"Don't you want that?" she replied, looking genuinely confused.

I sighed, a groan of exapsperation also making it's way, unbidden, past my lips. "One, it's a good thing Edward's not here, or he would have you tied up and thrown into a fire to be roasted like an unfortunate pig for even suggesting that other boys have their attention on me. Two, I don't _want_ attention. Three, if I wear those clothes, people will notice that they're the same as their mighty goddess of song, Vivian Jonas. And then I'll be either attacked with aggression or smothered with delight. You don't want that to happen to your best friend, do you, Alice?"

I knew my guilt trip would work. Alice immediately put the clothes away with a huff.

Or at least I thought she would. And she did. For about five seconds. Then she found something worth squealing over.

"OH MY GOD! Jasper!" she shrieked.

Poor Jasper looked as if he might have a heart-attack when he scrambled through the door. His tall, lean frame was awkward as he hurriedly tried to answer to Alice's demand. "Yes, Alice?"

"Are those what I think they are?" Alice squealed, her high-pitched voice rising even higher. She began to dig deeper into the celeb part of my closet, flinging expensive clothes out left and right. Jasper and I ducked and dodged the missiles of cloth.

When she found what she had been looking for, Alice shouted out with glee. She held up a camisole that cost me about two hundred dollars.

"YES! Found you!" she squealed. She hugged it in delight. "Bella," she said, looking at me dramatically with her large doe eyes huge and shiny. "You _do_ have a sense of fashion!"

Then her eye fell on something else and she dropped what she was holding (that thankfully wasn't breakable) to attack it. The camisole lay forlornly on the ground, forgotten. Soon, my best friend's entire body vanished into my closet, and the only way I could tell she was still there was from her loud yells of delight and pleasure.

Another loud squeal washed over me, nearly deafening my sensitive eardrums. I winced and covered my ears, looking at Jasper.

_How do you stand it?_ I mouthed. He just shrugged and gestured helplessly.

I sighed. Oh, boy. I was in for a looooooong evening.

-----

The next morning, I was rudely awakened by an especially loud screeching in my ears.

As in, the screeching of a banshee, loud enough to make me nearly deaf, and to set my teeth on edge.

I cannot even begin to explain how it feels to be surrounded by the pleasant silver mists of a wonderful dream (about your completely yummy boyfriend, too, not to mention) one second and then to hear a horrible squawking noise the next, as if all the world were crying out in mortal agony.

Seriously, it put nails screeching on chalkboards to shame.

And then my warm and comfy quilt was snatched away from me!

I screamed and bolted upright out of bed, nearly impaling my forehead on Alice's. "Hi Bella," she said, all sweet and innocent.

But I had had enough. "Don't you 'Hi Bella' me! First you dig out my entire closet, then you made a disaster of my room, then you nearly choked me at dinner, and now you wake me up in this manner and try to act innocent?! NOT HAPPENING!" My voice rose in pitch and volume with each word.

Alice just grinned at me and commented, "Wow. Now I know how you can sing so loud onstage."

By then, my ears were nearly blowing steam. I vowed that next time I stopped by the mall, I would buy a voodoo doll.

One that was pale, petite, with short black hair sticking in every direction and fancy designer clothes on. One that had big doe-eyes of dark blue and was a tiny version of the girl standing next to my bed, looking smug and all too pleased with herself.

And I'd have to buy a few pins. Mwahahahaha!

Okay, now back to normal.

"Alice," I groaned. "It's--" I looked at the clock to confirmation. "--six o'clock! And not even a school day!"

"I know. But you have a date with your celeb sweetheart, don't you?"

"Yes, yes, I know," I answered grumpily, talking while swinging my legs off the bed. "Now gimme my quilt or else I'll--" My sentence was cut short when I tripped and sent myself tumbling to the ground.

Alice clutched her sides, her chest heaving with laughter. I could have sworn I tripped over her shoe! "Or else you'll fall?" she giggled.

I sighed and ignored her, snatching up my clothing, wig, and fake identity, then stalking into the bathroom to take a shower. Alice followed me, whining and apologizing, but she refused to wipe that stupid smirk off her face.

"I hate you, Alice!" I shouted over the loud thrumming of a million water droplets hitting the tile floor of the tub.

"I love you too!"

I dressed, grumbling to myself about little girls and best friends who were supposed to help me, not made me go prematurely deaf.

At least, the good news was that I had another date with Anthony Masen. You know, it really wasn't good news, but as long as I got away from that evil ball of energy tipped with a mop of spiky black hair, anything looked appealing.

Even sitting under the moonlight with a guy I hated.

That's right hat_ed_.

I didn't know why, but now I thought of Anthony as a better person. Only a little bit, mind you. Edward was still so much better.

"Hey," I greeted, when he met me outside my manager's door. He grinned and his eyes ran up and down my form, drinking in my appearance. I could feel my cheeks begin to heat up, but the blood rushing to them thankfully stayed concealed.

"Nice," he commented lightly. "You remind me of my sister. Same crazy fashion style."

I laughed, my mind immediately zoning in on one particular person. "I was dressed by one hell of an evil pixie."

He chuckled. "Now that describes my sister perfectly. Maybe they should hang out."

"Maybe." I was definitely finding it easier to hang out with him.

He took my hand and we wandered around the boardwalk, chatting and exchanging stories. Anthony seemed to delight in hearing anything about my childhood, especially embarrassing stories.

I was just letting down all my guard when I saw a black car zoom around the corner. And it looked awfully familiar.

Uh-oh.

Apparently, Anthony had the same thought as me, for he grabbed my hand and high-tailed it out of there. Ducking through huge crowds, we managed to lose the car by running into an empty alley.

"Wow," I gasped. My breath still had not returned to me yet. "You can _run_."

He too was breathless. "God, how I hate the paparazzi," he grunted. "Especially _her_. Stalker Girl."

I nodded. On more than one occasion, before we started dating, I found out that there was a crazy fan girl stalking Anthony. She would pop up in a black car and chase him all over the place.

Anthony and I had gone on three dates, this being out third. Our first was when we first started to like each other.

Our second date had been spent running from Stalker Girl as she did what she did best. Stalk us. And trust me, I did not want a repeat performance.

Suddenly, we burst unexpectedly into another crowded street. The scents here were different, with lots of spices wafting from the spice store and a musty, animistic smell coming from the pet shop.

Anthony fished his phone out of his pocket and said to me, "I have to talk to someone, and she demands privacy. Wait for me here?"

"Sure," I answered easily. My date disappeared.

As sudden as when we burst from the alley, my phone rang, sending a sweet melody into the air. The people nearest me stared and did a double-take.

_You've found hope  
__You've found faith  
__Found how fast she could take it away  
__Found true love  
__Lost your heart  
__Now you don't know who you are_

_She made it easy  
__Made it free  
__Made you hurt til you couldn't see  
__Sometimes it stops  
__Sometimes it flows  
__By baby that is how love goes_

I fumbled around my purse until I found the phone, then flipped it open automatically. "Hello?"

A soft chuckle drifted from the phone, a laugh that I would know anywhere. A laugh that I would follow to the ends of the Earth with nothing but trust in my heart, a laugh that meant peace and love and a wonderful bursting emotion deep in my chest. "Edward!"

"Yes, love. It's me," he replied.

"How are you? I miss you terribly."

He coughed awkwardly. "Y-Yeah, I miss you too." I was about to question him on why he sounded so anxious when he said, "Look, where are you right now? I want to see you for a second."

"Erm...I'm in Seattle."

"Oh, so am I. Where in Seattle?"

I looked around me, desperate for a street sign when I was interrupted. As in, by a squeal.

God, I was starting to hate squeals.

"Oh my God! You're Vivian Jonas, aren't you?" a girl shouted right in my ear. "Oh my God! I like, totally love you!"

A faint sound drifted over the phone, almost as if Edward were choking on something. "Edward, are you alright?" I whispered frantically. When I heard no reply, panic seized me and threatened to flood my throat. "Edward!"

"I'm alright," he croaked. "Just...something."

"Oh."

"Bella, I gotta go. Someone's calling me, alright? I'm sorry, love."

I felt like a deflated balloon, but accepted it. "Alright. Love you Edward. Bye."

"Bye, love."

With an angry snap, I shut the phone and turned to the girl. No, make that _crowd_. The girl's cry had gotten the attention of the entire street and everyone was craning their necks to see me. Some people were even comparing my face to one in a magazine.

Thankfully, Anthony, my knight in shining armour (for now) came and rescued me.

Once we got away from the obnoxious crowd, I was all too eager to go home. Anthony apologized that he made the evening unpleasant for me, though I tried my best to sooth the poor man, trying to tell him that it wasn't his fault.

But he was just like Edward--stubborn and self-loathing.

When I got home, I took another quick shower, then stripped out of my clothes into my sleep-wear. I collapsed on my bed and stared at my pale fingers, slipping my engagement ring on.

I picked up a picture of Edward smiling up at me from the sunny meadow where he proposed. Kissing the picture, I set it on my nightstand and crawled into bed, my head full of happy thoughts.

"I love you, Edward Cullen."

**Edward's POV**

"Mr. Cullen, could you tell us what type of cell this is?" the teacher called to me.

I groaned quietly, my mind on other thoughts. Then I lifted my head, took one look at the fat circular blob on the board, and muttered, "Fat cell."

"Correct. And this?" He pointed to a long, thin...well, thing. There was no other word for it.

"Nerve cell."

"Good. Prepare for an exam on cells this Thursday..." I zoned out again, my head slumping forward so my chin rested on my chest. A stray lock of bronze hair slipped down and hung in front of my eye.

I felt girls shoot appreciative looks at me.

After school, Emmett was playing video games _in my room_ while Rosalie threw a tantrum in my closet, screaming that there was nothing _interesting_ for me to wear to my date tomorrow. Frankly, I didn't care.

However, I did care about whether I lived or died.

So I didn't tell this blond bombshell that was currently digging through my mountain of men's clothing that I didn't give a damn about whether or not I was wearing a dishrag or a tux.

"Edward, are you listen to me?" she demanded.

"Mmm?"

She huffed. "I was _talking_ to you, you know!"

"Mmm."

"Are 'Mmm's the only verbal sounds you are capable of producing? Because I am not fluent in that language."

I grunted instead, and nearly had Rosalie knock my head off. "Gee, woman. Do you want me dead?"

"Oh, so now you talk," she snarled. I sent her an impish grin.

Emmett decided to add his two-cents, for he piped up, "Edward's got his panties in a twist today. Apparently, Bella asked him out to the movies not too long ago and he had to cancel."

"Shut up!" I snapped, throwing a heavy pillow at him. I watched with deep satisfaction as it hit him in the back of the head and he slammed his nose onto the video game controller.

"Oh, boy! Revenge!" Emmett screamed.

Oh boy, indeed. Oh boy, I'm going to go immature if I spend any more time around this goofball.

-----

The next morning, I felt a violent bouncing on my bed.

"Geroff!" I growled, upset about being woken up.

The tinkling laugh of my pixie sister sounded from across the room. Looking up, I realized that Emmett was holding a video taper to my face while Rosalie bounced on my bed. Alice's face was on the computer, no doubt from web-cam.

"Emmett!" I roared. "Get this stupid thing away from me!"

"Sorry, bro. No can do. 'Member, revenge!"

I groaned and pulled my quilt over my head, rolling over so they couldn't get a good shot of me. Rosalie sat on my legs and I heard Alice cheering those monsters on with enthusiasm.

Finally, I had enough. Sitting bolt upright, I threw off the covers and snapped, "Don't you guys care about me?"

"Of course we do, Edward," Rosalie replied evenly.

Emmett put one hand over his chest. "Eddie boy, we do this with love in our hearts."

"Besides, you have a date today," Rose supplied. Emmett wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and his girlfriend wacked him upside the head. He jumped and cowered under my bed.

"Don't fall on me and squash me, Eddie," his voice floated up to me faintly.

"Thanks for the idea," I called.

I got ready for my date quickly and then grabbed my keys and left.

At least, the good news was that I had another date with Vivian Jonas. You know, it really wasn't good news, but as long as I got away, I was fine.

Even sitting under the moonlight with a girl I hated.

That's right hat_ed_.

I didn't know why, but now I thought of Vivian as a better person. Only a little bit, mind you. Bella was still so much better.

"Hey," she greeted, when I met me outside her manager's door.

I sent her a lazy grin and allowed my eyes to innocently roam her body, not in a bad way. I noticed that her clothing style was a lot like Alice's. A bit too much, I might add.

"Nice," I said, my voice light. "You remind me of my sister. Same crazy fashion style."

Vivian laughed softly. "I was dressed by one hell of an evil pixie."

I chuckled. "Now that describes my sister perfectly. Maybe they should hang out."

"Maybe." I wondered at her vague answer.

I took her hand and we strolled on the sidewalk, without a care in the world. I loved to hear about all of Vivian's embarressing childhood stories. They awakened an interest in me.

I was just letting down all my guard when I saw a black car zoom around the corner. And it looked awfully familiar. Yup. _Way_ too familiar. And not in a pleasant way either.

Uh-oh.

Apparently, Vivian had the same thought as me, because she had a terrified, but also annoyed, look on her face. I grabbed her hand roughly and high-tailed it out of there as fast as I could. Ducking through huge crowds, we managed to lose the car by running into an empty alley.

"Wow," she gasped. God, was she supposed to sound so alluring when breathless? No, Edward! I mean, Anthony! You're supposed to love Bella, and now is not the time to admire Vivian! You're falling for her charms just like all those other boys in the school! "You can _run_."

I wanted to say something else, but all that came out of my mouth was, "God, how I hate the paparazzi. Especially _her_. Stalker Girl."

She nodded in agreement. We had run into Stalker Girl before. Not pleasant.

Suddenly, we burst unexpectedly into another crowded street. I looked around, and admired the way the sun filtered down onto the sidewalk, making the pavement also shimmer. Seeing the jeweler's shop, I was reminded of the ring I gave Bella, which made me worry about her.

When had I last talked to her? Seen her?

Two, three days?

I fished my phone out of his pocket and said to my date, "I have to talk to someone, and she demands privacy. Wait for me here?"

"Sure," Vivian answered trustingly. I ran off to a separate alley and dialed Bella's number, waiting anxiously as it rang. Was she mad at me?

"Hello?" she breathed. I chuckled quietly and she gasped, "Edward!"

"Yes, love. It's me," I sang, my heart filled with that emotion.

"How are you? I miss you terribly."

I coughed awkwardly. I missed her. And I was on a date with a girl that was not her. "Y-Yeah, I miss you too. Look, where are you right now? I want to see you for a second."

"Erm...I'm in Seattle."

"Oh, so am I. Where in Seattle?"

I heard a loud squeal over the phone. "Oh my God! You're Vivian Jonas, aren't you?" I heard a girl shout. It came from very near Bella. "Oh my God! I like, totally love you!"

I nearly choked on my own spit, and wracking coughs shook me. "Edward!" Bella shouted.

"I'm alright," I croaked. "Just...something."

"Oh."

"Bella, I gotta go. Someone's calling me, alright? I'm sorry, love."

"Alright. Love you Edward. Bye."

"Bye, love."

I shut my phone, worried. What if something happened to Vivian while I was gone? Was she hurt? Was she attacked by mobs of fans? I tried to shake any depressing visions from my mind.

When I found her, she was surrounded by a crowd.

And I mean a huge one, that shouted at us. While rescuing Vivian, I cast my eyes around, looking for Bella. She must be near if I heard the crowd scream so close during our phone call.

No sign of her.

Once we got away from the obnoxious crowd, Vivian seemed extremely anxious to go home. I apologized over and over for mading the evening unpleasant for her. After all, why else would she want to leave?

She tried to tell me it wasn't my fault. Just like Bella.

At home, I changed and did everything I normally did before going to bed.

I picked up a picture of Bella smiling up at me from the sunny meadow where I had proposed. Kissing the picture, I set it on my nightstand and crawled into bed, my head full of happy thoughts.

"I love you, Isabella Swan."

**Author's Note-Wow, my mom is yelling at me now. She expected me to be asleep. I meant to update this yesterday, and I did, but when I found no reviews, I realized that I didn't _save_ the damn chapter when adding it to the story. So, yeah. Boy, I can't get this stupid sloppy grin off my face. All that's in my head right now is, "I FINALLY UPDATED! YIPEE!"**

**Review, my lovelies!**


	9. Kisses

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**WARNING: I know nothing about computers whatsoever. Oh, and Bella and Edward get a bit...hot in this chapter. So anyone who doesn't want to read , I suggest you skip the little bit. Just a warning. There will be NO lemons (There's a reason why it's rated T). Enough to fuel your mind, but leaving most to the imagination. Major fluff.**

* * *

Chapter 8

Kisses

**Bella's POV**

I drummed my fingers on my desk, hovering over Jasper and peering over his shoulder as he double-clicked an icon. A little window popped up, along with a brilliantly flashing ad proclaiming to the world that some weird cream in a white and blue bottle was the best solution to acne. The mouse hovered over the red X in the top-right corner for a second while Jasper's eyes flitted swiftly over the ad. Then he clicked the mouse and the window disappeared.

"What was that?" I inquired politely, not exactly being the smartest person when it came to technology.

Jasper grimaced. "A simple ad. But they seem fond of your computer. A lot have popped up. In the time when normally one would come, four have for you."

"And that means...?" Now was not a good time for me to use my brain. I blame Edward, who's arms were wrapped around my waist, face nuzzling my neck and dissolving every thought into an incoherent jumble as fast as it came to my brain.

"You may have a virus. The only problem is, it's hard to detect if you do. That can be because A) The virus has more technical advantages than usual, B) It is a new virus that no one has found yet, so consequently, no one knows about it, or C) Your computer is just plain old. So we may be mistaking a little hard drive trouble for a virus."

"Oh." Whatever that was supposed to mean.

Jasper squinted at the screen, his full concentration on what he was doing as the mouse moved in crazy patterns across my desktop. I felt Edward smile against my neck as he whispered, "Nice picture."

"Shut up," I responded playfully. My desktop was a picture of me, twelve years old, sitting in the mud and clutching a poor pup that was probably miserable but was trying to put on a brave face. Its soulful dark eyes stared out of the monitor, absurdly long fawn-and-white body lain down to rest in the mud. It didn't look too pleased that its freshly groomed fur was splattered and dirty.

Alice bounded over to me and ducked under her boyfriend's arm, staring at the dog. "Aw, it's cute, Bella. What breed is it?"

"A Pembroke Welsh Corgi. They're long, low dogs with big ears, and their heads look like foxes. They're good for children, and are protective and obedient. Also very good guard and alarm dogs. Very loyal. And the best thing is, they do fine in apartments. Don't need a yard, cause they'll probably run your house down and get enough exercise doing that."

Emmett was looking at me surprised. "Wow, Bells, I didn't know you read the encyclopedia on dogs."

I made a face at him. "Can't I know about my own neighbor's dog?"

"Cool!" Alice squeaked. "It's so cute! I want one!"

"Uh, Alice honey, don't you want to think it over, nice and thoroughly?" Jasper asked, finally tearing his eyes away from my computer. His hand still gripped my mouse though and I'm sure I saw the corner of his eyes dart back to the screen.

Alice nodded eagerly. "I have thought about it. Plenty. I want one."

"When did you think about getting a dog again?" Emmett interrupted.

"In the last, oh, five seconds?"

"That's enough time for you to decide to torture some poor foreign creature?" he questioned, eyes wide.

Alice scrunched her nose up. "Of course. Just because you think slowly doesn't mean everyone else does. So what if it takes me five seconds to come to a pleasant, not to mention _logical_, solution?" Emmett barely blinked when she insulted him. I didn't think he understood.

"Logical?" Edward piped up, peppering kisses along my throat and jaw. I shivered and pushed his head away, trying to concentrate on the conversation at hand. He pouted adorably, looking up at me underneath his long dark lashes, his emerald eyes smoldering with green fire, and my will crumbled in a nanosecond. I let his smooth lips find purchase in the hollow under my ear again.

"Yes, logical, Edward. Maybe you'd understand if you stopped slobbering over Bella."

Edward's head shot up and he glared at his sister, then began plastering kisses to my skin with renewed vigour, most likely just to annoy Alice. I was probably right, seeing as I heard a gagging sound behind me.

"Ugh, yuck."

"You should see yourself with Jasper," Edward retorted. "What with your hands all over each other. I think I burned my eyes when you two decided to have a make-out session on the living room couch, _in plain sight_."

Jasper kept his eyes glued to the comp, but I could see his cheeks coloring. And I swear I also saw a glimmer of male pride in his eyes. Boys.

It was silent for a long time. The air was thick with tension. Then--

"You know, Alice, Edward is fine." Everyone's head snapped around in look at Rosalie, who was lying with Em on my bed sifting through a bunch of pictures. She smiled. "If I weren't so crazy about our lovable bear here, I would have targeted your brother."

Everybody's reaction was different. Emmett looked hurt and slightly insulted. Alice was gagging again. Jasper's eyes trailed over Edward's pale features, trying to see his buddy in another light and holding in his laughter. Edward's eyes were wide with disbelief, and I giggled, burying my face in Edward's hair to stifle the snorts on amusement.

"Way to break the tension, Rose," Edward coughed.

She beamed at him wickedly. "I know,_ sweetheart_." He coughed again, which made her laugh. "Gee Edward, don't worry. I said _if_ I weren't so crazy about Emmett, and I most certainly am crazy about him."

Emmett grinned ferally as he coiled himself around his girlfriend, and they disappeared in a mess of delighted sounds and passionate kissing noises.

The rest of us tried to give them privacy, and did our best not to show our disgust.

..................................................

"Uh..."

I stared dumbfounded at the bouncing ball of tan and white fuzz in front of me, trying to hook its tiny ivory claws into my jeans and scrabbling frantically. It squeaked and leaped again.

"Isn't he so _cute_?" Alice squealed, laying on her bed and looking over at her Corgi.

"Uh...I guess?" I stuttered, trying to ignore the cold wet nose poking in the tear in my pants. Mind you, the hole was made by the _cute_ demon panting at my knees and running circles around my ankles.

Alice gave it her doe eyes. "Come to Mommy, baby."

The dog yelped happily and romped, no, _flew_, into Alice's lap, where it plastered sloppy kisses on her cheeks with its ever-eager tongue.

Instead of "When the hell did you get a dog?" which was what I meant to come out of my mouth, all I spluttered was, "Name?" I raised my water bottle to my lips just for the sake of doing something, and took a swig.

"I don't know...hm...how bout Tom? Trouble? Elroy?"

I spit out my water. It seemed as if I were displaying my surprise a lot now. Alice flinched as the droplets fell two feet from her slipper-clad feet. The barely existent tail of the demon dog blurred as it wagged hard, tiny pink tongue lolling. "Elroy?" I choked. "What kind of frickin name is _Elroy_?"

Alice shrugged. "I guess it wasn't the best name ever." She giggled almost drunkenly. If I didn't know better, I would have thought she was a bit tipsy.

"No. I think your little happy spirit would like 'Jake'."

"Jake?" Alice's eyes twinkled with excitement. "How about that?" she crooned to her dog. "How about it, Jakey boy?" It barked happily.

"I said 'Jake' Alice, not 'Jakey boy'." My voice was flat.

Alice pouted. "Why don't you like him?"

"Maybe cause you decided to get it in five seconds, and it destroyed my favorite jeans? It destroyed them, Alice. Look at this hole." I held up my right knee, balancing on my left foot, and showed her the ragged hole.

"Jakey didn't mean it, did you boy?" Alice cooed. "Jakey just wanted to play." Then she said in her normal voice, "Besides you need new jeans."

I rolled my eyes. Leave it to Alice to turn an argument about a dog into a reason to go shopping. "I still don't like it. It's a little demon disguised as a dog."

There was a gasp. Then Alice's hands were covering her dog's ears as it whined and tried to lick her fingers.

I gave her a funny look. "You're hurting his feelings, Bella! He's family now, not an 'it'. Poor Jake."

I snorted. "Its feelings don't_ look _hurt."

"Bella!" I rolled my eyes again and sighed.

..................................................

"Mmm..." Edward sighed, his lips pressed hard against my jaw, tongue flicking out occasionally to taste my skin. My grip in his hair tightened and with my elbows, which were digging into his shoulders, I sought to bring his body closer to mine.

His chest was pressed against mine, hovering so that I wasn't suffocating, but could feel his very real and rather god-like body on top of me.

As soon as I had ushered Edward out the door at promptly seven, I had raced upstairs, showered, and pulled on a blouse and a pair of low-rise jeans. And a bra. I wasn't stupid - no way was I going to spend a night with a guy without a bra.

A small, unintentional moan left my mouth as his hands roamed my body, taking the freedom to touch wherever he wished. The only places he avoided were my...privates, you could call them. My hips bucked forward and Edward whimpered almost helplessly, lost in the passion and pleasure. Blood flooded my cheeks as I realized what I just did.

But hey, you can't blame me for being a teenager.

Add to the fact that it was romantically dark, we were in my bed, and Charlie was brooding downstairs with no clue as to what was going on.

"B-Bella, we h-have to s-stop," Edward stuttered, his hips rocking gently against mine. I shook my head and flipped us over.

"Don't want to," I growled. It was amazing that I was still coherent while my boyfriend was stammering. That fact alone brought a warm sense of pride to me. My fingers fumbled with his shirt buttons, and I clawed angrily at them.

Edward's hands flew down and caught my wrists, eyes burning with desire that nearly made me melt. "Please, Bella. I don't want to lose control."

"Dammit, Edward! Is that all life is about? Control, control, control! Can't you just _let go_ for once and actually enjoy this?!" I quietly screeched. Normally, I wouldn't have yelled at him, but my frustration was particularly strong today.

To my surprise, Edward lay back and let me struggle fruitlessly with the buttons. I snarled and a few of them popped out, flying across the room.

Edward turned his head to watch one sail in a graceful arc and plunk against my mirror, then turned back to me, amused. "What?" I snapped.

He shook his head and traced patterns on my back with his, frankly, amazing fingers. When I finally managed to rip his stupid collared-shirt off, my whole demeanor changed. My eyes must have lit up with delight, because Edward chuckled softly and his fingers ghosted along my skin, gliding underneath my body to rub my flat belly through my shirt. I closed my eyes and moaned softly.

I explored his chest, running my hands in broad circles across his taunt stomach muscles. "Something got you tense?" I teased, tickling his abs.

"You've no idea," he whispered back, teeth clenched. I grinned in triumph, massaging his biceps. "Oh, Bella," he groaned. "That feels good."

"Really?" I continued kneading the hard muscle.

"Yeah. It was Emmett's fault. He demanded a wrestling match - no, a _tournament_ - right after I came in from basketball practice. And doing fifty push-ups. My arms were already hurting, but he just had to make them burn, did he? That's why I lost." He threw me an uneven smile. "Maybe we should stop. That's already pushing our boundaries too far."

My eyes widened. "No, Edward. Please. Just a little more. What's the point in making boundaries if you're not going to push them?"

He bit his lip, unsure, then, almost before I knew what was happening, his hands were tugging at my blouse. His fingers were nimble as he pulled each button through its respective hole, then pushed the material off my arms. And I was left in...my upper undergarments.

"Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?" he murmured, brushing his fingers lightly along my collarbone. I shivered, goosebumps rising. He slid one of the straps of my bra down so he could kiss my shoulder.

"Why don't you show me," I whispered back coyly.

It was Edward's turn to shudder as his mind comprehended what I was asking. He slid the strap back onto my shoulder. "No, Bella. Too far. After all," he smiled fondly at me, his large hands slipping down my arms to grasp my smaller hands. "What's the point in after the wedding if I'm going to take you now? No, I'm going to do it the right way."

I groaned, knowing I would have to wait. Was the torture never going to end?

"Patience, love," he crooned, hands skimming over my stomach, which automatically tensed. He worked his way higher, nudging my ribcage gently and just touching the swells of my breasts, and I let out a breathless moan. It must have been louder than I thought because the TV downstairs muted and there was an uncomfortable silence in the entire house. Then Charlie clunked loudly up the stairs and knocked on the door.

"Are you okay, Bells?" he called.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and my eyes darted to Edward, who lay frozen next to me, eyes wide with...fear? He grabbed the sheets roughly and threw them over himself, his head tucked against my stomach and making the bed lurch violently. I shivered, half in pleasure and half because his longish hair tickled. Apparently, my silence was a bit too long for Charlie's liking and the creaking of the bed was not something I normally managed with my tiny weight because he opened the door and peered suspiciously into the room, eyes sweeping around the dark corners.

"You okay, Bells? I heard something."

I laughed nervously and ran a hand through my hair. "Yeah, Ch - Dad, I'm fine."

"Where's the Cullen boy?" he asked, eyes suspicious again. I could've sworn I felt Edward quake next to me.

"You mean Edward? He went home hours ago, Dad." Thankfully, Charlie decided not to ask about the lump on my bed and closed the door with a grunt of dissatisfaction. I listened to him clomp back down the stairs, muttering about boys sneaking into his daughter's room in the middle of the night and growing old and hearing things.

I let out my breath, pulling back the covers and letting Edward breath again. I grabbed his hand, tugging it to my hip and trying to pick up to where we were before Charlie interrupted us. He squeezed my hip once before pulling his hand away. "That's enough for one night." He shrugged into his shirt, pulling the sheets over my torso and planting a kiss on my forehead. He stood to leave.

"Will you at least stay for a while," I begged, pulling my best puppy-dog face. Ha, thanks again, Alice!

Edward paused for a second, torn between the desire to stay with me or possibly get shot by my father, who would have a heart attack if he ever found out Edward was in my room, let alone doing the slightly intimate actions we had just been preforming _at night_. He dropped back onto the bed and snuggled over to me, arms circling my waist and mouth searching for mine.

Our lips crashed together and I couldn't help thinking about how _this_ was right, how _this _was when I felt most loved, most cherished. Edward rolled over so that he was hovering over me again, tongue probing my bottom lip. It was my turn to refuse.

I almost giggled when Edward whined piteously, his green eyes pleading with me as his tongue darted out again and again to nudge my lips. At last, I gave in, and hummed with satisfaction as out tongues collided. Everything else became non-existent, everything but Edward and I.

The sound coming from his throat could only be described as a purr. The deep, throaty, and slightly rough sound made my heart beat faster for him.

For probably the first time, I broke the kiss. Edward's head lowered as he began nipping and licking, kissing and biting my neck. I angled my head to give him better access. Somehow, he lost his shirt again. "You know," I said breathlessly, "You're lucky my cousins aren't here."

"All the more reason to take advantage of you tonight," he moaned huskily. I felt his lips curve upwards. "Don't take my words to heart, Bella."

"Aw...dammit. Just as I thought I was winning."

He lifted he head and stared at me. "Don't ever think you're winning, Bella," he whispered, dominance and power and pride in his voice. He was like the Alpha wolf in a pack and I could do nothing about it. "Cause _I'm _the one who always wins. You're just my helpless little puppy, aren't you?"

He nipped at the flesh of my throat. "Answer, Bella. Say that I'm the one who always wins. Say that you're only my vulnerable little pup." I squeaked softly, then sighed in submission. He seemed to take that as an answer for he murmured, "Good." and kissed me again, possibly bruising my lips in the process. But I could hardly care. Yes, he was my leader. Yes, he always won. Yes, I was only his helpless pup. And I liked it.

Edward collapsed onto the bed, rolling off me and smiled cheekily. "Well?"

"You're pretty good at being the Alpha. I just _quiver_ under your power." He growled at my choice of words and I stared at him innocently.

"Succubus," he accused. I grinned impishly. "Which reminds me. I wanted to take you to a movie tomorrow night, called 'Succubus'. Care to join me?"

I bit my lip. Mr. Brown had told me that there was another date with Anthony scheduled for tomorrow night. "No, can't. Sorry. I'm busy."

The romantic, intimate air suddenly disappeared, and the atmosphere became hard with tension.

Edward let out a frustrated sigh. "What is it with us?" he snarled, more to himself than to me. "Why are we always busy? Why can't we ever have time for each other, besides sneaking into each others rooms in the dead of night? Do you realize, Bella, that our last date was months ago? Months. Are we or are we not fiancees? Why aren't we acting the part then?"

Moisture welled up in my eyes almost before I could stop it. "Please, Edward, stop. I don't want to have a fight."

Immediately, his face softened. "I'm sorry, Bella. I didn't mean to make you cry." His warm hands cupped my face, wiping the tears away. "I'm just a fool who can't take rejection. Can you forgive me, Bella?" He cradled me in his arms.

"There's nothing to forgive, Edward. And you're not a fool. Quite the opposite, actually."

He pressed his lips to mine and sighed. "I guess I can't change your mind? The business can't wait?"

"I'm afraid not," I said. "But at least you'll know I love you."

He chuckled quietly so as not to alert Charlie again. "And that I'll be eternally grateful for."

..................................................

I shifted nervously in front of Charlie, who was staring hard at me, his eyes accusing. "Tell me again, Bells, why I found _Cullen's_," he practically spit the name, "shirt in your room."

He held up Edward's button-up, which was missing a few buttons. I wondered how Edward couldn't remember to get his own shirt. Wouldn't you notice if you were topless?

"Edward must have left it there yesterday when we were studying?" I squeaked. _Way to go, Bella_, I thought. _You just made it obvious that you're lying._ But no way in hell was I going to tell Charlie that my boyfriend spent the night in my room, not to mention I discarded his shirt while we were intensely making out and doing other...sexually related things he would probably choke with rage at.

Charlie glared at me. "The truth, Bells."

My mind was spinning wildly as I tried to make up some story that would not sound as if I were making it up as I went along. I bit my lip.

The problems (and there were many) included the fact that I could not lie with blushing, I could not lie while maintaining eye contact, much less with my stern father, I could not lie under pressure, and I could not lie, period. End of story.

I shifted again on my feet, transferring more of my weight from my right foot to my left foot, trying to look as if I were debating whether or not to tell the truth and not as if I were making up some wild story in three seconds.

One thing: I could never, _ever_ betray Edward. If Charlie blew his head off, it was my fault.

"I'm waiting, Bells," Charlie rumbled. My lower lip slipped out as I thought and I just remembered that Charlie was no good with bawling children. An idea flared in my mind and I could almost hear the lightbulb in my brain, _ding!_

I let the moisture collect in my eyes again, could feel the fake sobs building up in my chest. If there was one thing I was grateful for, it was to Mr. Brown for making me get acting lessons. I could cry on a whim.

As soon as Charlie saw the first few tears slip down my face, he dropped his stern facade. "Bells..."

I started to cry harder now, and Charlie dropped Edward's shirt to come stand by me, wringing his hands anxiously. "Bells, don't cry."

"I j-just w-w-wanted t-to r-rem-member h-him!" I choked out. "I-I miss h-him wh-when h-he l-l-leaves!"

"So you stole one of his shirts?" Charlie was trying to be sympathetic.

"N-No! I w-would n-never st-steal from h-him! H-He g-gave it to me! E-Edward! T-To r-remember him! E-Even wh-when h-he's n-not th-th-there!"

"Oh," Charlie said softly. "So you kept his shirt?"

I nodded pitifully. "I-I h-had a n-nightmare a-and I w-wanted h-him to be c-close."

Charlie awkwardly hugged me. "It's okay, Bells. I'm sorry I got mad." I almost smiled against his shirt. If there was anything Charlie was a sucker for, it was tears. I sniffled loudly to keep up my act. "You have a date tonight, Bells. With that Masen kid."

"Oh yeah," I said, giving him a watery smile. "I'll go get ready." When Charlie turned his back to me, I stooped, picked up Edward's shirt, and smirked. Then I flounced back upstairs to get ready.

Tears can do wonders.

..................................................

Anthony sighed and pulled me closer to him, trying to ignore the many stares boring into our backs. Even the people in front of us were twisting around to ogle us, or were whipping out cell phones to take a picture.

I didn't think that 'Succubus' was such an intriguing movie, but the theatre had filled quickly after we came. I blame the text messagers.

Now the whole place was crowded, though filled with whispered mutterings and the owner of the place was staring smugly at us.

"You know what?" Anthony hissed in my ear after we heard another 'They're going out?' and 'Aw, how cute!' conversation. "I have half a mind to go up there and say that we're not really dating."

I nodded towards the owner hovering by the exit. "You tell him and he'll sing like a canary. Then think of how much trouble we'll be in."

Anthony scowled. I pecked him on the cheek, trying to think of him as a boyfriend, and the furrow on his brow disappeared. His face became a smooth mask as he turned and brushed his lips against my cheek. Looking around, I realized that people had been watching.

We were going to have to watch our steps with care now.

Anthony kept bouncing his knee in aggravation, which kind of annoyed me. "Would you stop that?" I hissed.

He stared at me, surprised. "Sorry," he whispered. "I didn't know I was doing it."

"Well, then, stop." I was in a cranky mood and was about to yell at the next person who dared look at us. "Isn't there a rule in movie theatres about no cells phones turned on during the movie?"

"This owner isn't stupid. He knows that taking pictures of us will bring more people flocking to his business."

Sure enough, when I turned around, the guy standing next to the door was still looking at us, seeming way too smug.

"I guess they don't have the chance to see a lot of popstars out of LA," Anthony suggested. I grunted in reply and tried to refocus on the screen.

The screen was completely dark, but you could just see the darker shapes of a bed and a human-sized lump on it. There was moonlight filtering in through the window facing us. For about five minutes, nothing happened. All you could hear was the whispering sigh of the wind. I grew quickly bored.

"This is boring," I complained.

"Patience," Anthony reminded me, though he didn't look or sound very patient himself.

Suddenly, there was a loud _Whoosh!_and in through the open window came a slim female figure. It landed on the bed and I was painfully reminded of how Edward snuck into my bedroom last night. The lump on the bed moved and then the shadows melded together into a blur.

I huffed. "I hate romances."

Anthony's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. "No? Well, we're supposed to be going out, so you're supposed to be a chick-flick lover, Viv."

I wanted to punch the perfect-looking smirk off his jaw. He _knew_ not to call me by my hated nickname. "Shut up," I muttered, and instead settled for a dark glare in his direction.

He pulled me onto his lap and cuddled with me. "Come on, Vivian, cheer up."

"How can I cheer up when you're suffocating me?" I snapped.

"I'm not _suffocating_ you. It's called hugging. People do it when they like each other very much." I snorted in disbelief. Could this boy get any more dense?

A sweet, way-too-familiar melody came on while the succubus was busy luring the poor sleeping boy into her trap. I gasped in anger. "How dare they put my song in without telling me?" I hissed. "And into a movie about some stupid she-demon stealing men's virtue while they're sleeping!"

Then realization dawned on me. Mr. Brown!

Anthony laughed quietly. "Fine then. Since I don't like this movie very much either, care to skip it?"

"Sure." I was out of my seat in a flash. Everyone turned to watch us leave.

The owner was still hovering at the exit, but his smug look his vanished. "You're not permitted to leave the theatre during the movie," he pointed out. I didn't believe it for a second. If I came here as Bella Swan with Edward in tow, they're let us leave.

"We have urgent business to attend to," Anthony interjected.

The man opened his mouth, but Anthony raised an eyebrow and he shut it. He let us pass with a dejected expression, sulking like a child.

"Thank God," I sighed, stepping into the cooler twilight. I tugged at Anthony's hand and he followed a pace or two behind as I led him to a bench in the park right outside the theatre. I know, strange right? Leave it to Port Angeles to put a park there.

We sat in the darkening park, looking everywhere but at each other. It was kind of uncomfortable, what with Anthony sitting less than a foot away, pretending to be my boyfriend. Whenever someone passed us, he would grab my hand and then let go as soon as they were out of sight.

An elderly couple hobbled along the path and Anthony snatched my hand up again, placing it in his lap and playing with my fingers.

"Look at them, how sweet," the woman said, smiling and gesturing towards us.

The man beamed too. "It reminds me of us when we were younger," he croaked happily.

I shifted in my seat. Okay, I'll admit it: I hate "lying" to elderly people because it makes me feel so guilty. As if I weren't showing respect.

The couple grinned at us as they passed, and I smiled back weakly. Anthony, all charming and charismatic, waved at them.

The minutes ticked by, and less and less people came by this road as the darkness swelled, hiding us in its protective cloak. A waxing crescent moon rose, alone and isolated in the sky expect for the tiny diamonds twinkling and dancing in the black velvet canvas.

"Don't you think the moon gets lonely sometimes?" I murmured, eyes glued to the crescent.

Anthony shrugged. In the gathering darkness, I could only see his outline. "I guess. The Ancient Greeks thought of the moon as the goddess Artemis, sister of the sun god Apollo. Others thought of her as Selene, and the sun as Helios. It's confusing."

"Isn't Artemis the Wild Goddess?" I asked. Excuse me for not paying attention in Greek Mythology class.

"Yeah," Anthony said, his head tilted back as he watched the moon make its slow, slow progress across the sky. "She was the Goddess of the Hunt, the Protector of Wild Animals, the Goddess of the Moon, and the Lady Who Walked the Tides, among other things. Oh, and she was the Virgin Goddess." He sent me a cheeky grin. "Young virgin women prayed to her before they lost their virginity."

I blanched. "Let's not talk about that."

"Sure, whatever you say. I sometimes wonder how she can spend her day, pardon, _night_, being the moon, and how she can fulfill all her other duties too. And answer the lee-ttle people's prayer." He stretched out the word 'little' and held his forefinger and thumb an inch apart.

We were quiet for a while, until I whispered, "She must be lonely up there, by herself, with no one for company but the stars."

"The Ancient Greeks--"

"What about the Romans?" I asked. Anthony gave me a look and I shut up.

"As I was saying, before I was _rudely_interrupted, the Ancient Greeks thought of the stars and the constellations as dead people's spirits. Only important dead people, mind you. Or memories. Like you know, Taurus, the Bull?" I nodded. "Yeah, that constellation was associated with Zeus, or as I like to call him, the 'Fickle God' (he got lots of women in trouble with Hera, his wife when she found out he was sleeping around). It represents when Zeus carted off Europa and wooed her in the shape of a white bull. So maybe the moon isn't quite so lonely."

"Must be wonderful up there, surrounded by ghosts and memories," I muttered sarcastically.

Somehow, I ended up on Anthony's lap as we sat in the moonlight, chatting about insignificant things like mythology.

Quite by accident, I pushed myself up a bit, as Anthony turned his head down to look at me, and our lips met. I froze, about to pull away, when his mouth gently urged mine to move, and I responded hesitantly. There was no tongue in the kiss, just gently pecks and our lips brushing.

When we broke apart, my brain was swimming. That one one hell of a kiss.

But the thought that was first and foremost in my mind was:_ Shoot, I'm in _so_ much trouble._

* * *

**Edward's POV**

Bella's back was arched as she watched Jasper on her computer, much like the way a hawk would watch a sparrow. Or a mother would watch a babysitter tending to her precious child. Not that I was paying much attention; my face was buried in her neck and my brain was incoherent with her intoxicating scent. They spoke quietly about a virus, and Bella's body tensed slightly. I ran a hand up her back, trying to get her to unknot the muscles. She relaxed into my touch and unconsciously made a humming vibration.

Jasper moved the mouse quickly over the screen and I caught a flash of the desktop. I smiled. Young Bella was adorable. "Nice picture."

"Shut up," she responded, but I could hear the smile in her voice, and it made mine grow.

"Aw, it's cute, Bella. What breed is it?" Alice chirped, situating herself on the edge of Jasper's chair.

Bella moved a little, leaning forward. "A Pembroke Welsh Corgi," she answered. "They're long, low dogs with big ears, and their heads look like foxes. They're good for children, and are protective and obedient. Also very good guard and alarm dogs. Very loyal. And the best thing is..." I tuned out her words, only listening to her enticing voice.

Emmett probably said something stupid because Bella snapped back, "Can't I know about my neighbor's own dog?"

"Cool! It's so cute! I want one!" Alice trilled.

Jasper turned around, setting his eyes on my crazy, impulsive, spontaneous sister. And also his girlfriend. Sometimes, I wondered why he went for her. "Uh, Alice honey, don't you want to think it over, nice and thoroughly?"

"I have thought of it," Alice said, nodding happily. "Plenty. I want one."

Emmett looked at her weirdly and said, "When did you decide to get a dog again?"

"In the last, oh, five seconds?" I started to ignore Alice, concentrating on eliciting the most alluring reactions from Bella. I nipped her earlobe lightly and she squeaked, jumping a bit. "...five seconds to come to a pleasant, not to mention, _logical_, solution?" Alice finished. I frowned. Since when was anything Alice did defined as logical? And I was pretty sure she had just been talking about getting a dog.

I pecked Bella's throat softly, right over her jugular vein, then trailed upwards to lay a kiss on her jaw. I felt her shiver in delight, and my ego was boosted up a couple notches. She laid her feminine hands on my cheeks and gently pushed my head away.

I wouldn't have that. Slipping out my lower lip, I pouted as best I could, lowering my eyes and sent her a passion-filled look from underneath my lashes.

Bella shivered again and didn't object when I brushed my lips against the hollow under her ear.

Alice's unwelcome voice interrupted. "Yes, logical, Edward. Maybe you'd understand if you stopped slobbering over Bella."

My head shot up so fast it might make...well, something with fast reflexes jealous. I glared at Alice. Hark who's talking! She does God knows what with Jasper _in my room_ and then won't let me distract Bella? Besides, this was _Bella's_ room. As far as I was concerned, that also made it _my_ room. I lowered my head and pressed my mouth harder against Bella's skin, knowing it would gross Alice out.

She blanched. "Ugh, yuck."

"You should see yourself with Jasper," I snapped back. "What with your hands all over each other. I think I burned my eyes when you two decided to have a make-out session on the living room couch, _in plain sight_."

No one said a word. I think we were too tense to break the silence. Of course, leave it to Rose to comment.

She was sprawled on top of her boyfriend, examining pictures with a full-blown smirk on her red lips. "You know, Alice, Edward is fine." Everyone just stared at her. "If I weren't so crazy about our lovable bear here, I would have targeted your brother." She shot me a sly look.

My eyes widened and I suddenly found it hard to speak.

"Way to break the tension, Rose," I finally choked out.

She grinned at me with a look that could rival a fox's: cunning and elusive and roguish. "I know,_ sweetheart_." She stressed out the last word. I coughed, which she somehow found amusing. "Gee Edward, don't worry. I said _if_ I weren't so crazy about Emmett, and I most certainly am crazy about him."

I could almost see what was happening before it occurred. The next second, Rosalie and Emmett were a blur of limbs and happy noises.

I made a face. Seeing those two make-out was _not_ on my schedule for today.

..................................................

I was running around my room, muttering, "Shoot, shoot, shoot." under my breath as I hunted for my car keys, which had mysteriously disappeared after _someone_had driven my Volvo yesterday, and had nearly been caught by the local police. -coughAlicecough-

Now I had no idea where they had gone. "Bloody hell," I grit out. Stupid stupid stupid Alice. She just had to make me late for meeting Bella, didn't she?

"Alice!" I whisper-yelled through her bedroom door. "Where are my car keys?"

Though it was nearing eleven at night and we were supposed to be asleep, I could hear muffled yelps of delight coming from behind the wood, along with my sister's crooning voice.

"Coming, Edward!" she called back. "Give me one second." There was a laugh, and then splashing noises.

"No, I don't have any time to spare!" I barked. "I need them _now_."

There was a giggle and more splashing. "Going off to meet Bella in the middle of the night? Don't blame me if you come home tomorrow with a bullet in your arm and the need for an urgent meeting with Carlisle."

I cursed. Of course, Alice knew about me sneaking off. Alice knew everything.

"Just shut up and give me the damn keys," I almost pleaded.

I was about to barge in when the knob turned and the door opened...and I was attacked by a wet flying ball of fawn-and-white fur. The dog scaled up my body like a kid would climb the rock wall, using bunches of fabric to finally sit, panting and wagging its close to non-existent tail, on my chest. Clutching my car keys in its little demon mouth, I might add.

I moaned quietly and looked down at my shirt. It was in ruins, and sopping wet too. "Alice!"

My sister appeared in the open doorway, lounging against the wall. "Yes, beloved brother?"

"What is this...this...demon?" I growled.

"He's a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Edward. Name of Jake." She loped over to me and plucked the dog off my torso, having a game of tug-of-war with it over my car keys. Finally, Alice grabbed its muzzle, pried open its mouth, and tossed me the keys. "Isn't he so cute?"

I wondered how anyone could call that thing 'cute' after that tug-of-war game.

"Never mind," she muttered darkly, and slammed her bedroom door in my face.

I also wondered which one could out-hyper the other.

But alas, I didn't have anymore time to think of silly questions because Bella was waiting and I had a shirt to get rid of.

..................................................

Hormones.

That was the only thing racing in my mind as the night sat heavily on my shoulders, blanketing Bella and me in its intimate embrace.

Curse those hormones.

I poked my tongue out to taste Bella's flesh, and reveled in her erotic taste. I let out a sigh, not even sure what kind of noise I just made. She fisted my hair harder, puller me desperately closer and wrapping her thighs around my narrow hips.

Gently, I grasped her calves and brought her legs back down.

I didn't want to trouble her with my entire body so I put most of my weight on my elbows, but lay down heavily enough that I could feel her against me.

Bella let slip a keening moan as I brushed her body with my hands, using the liberty to caress her face, her arms, her stomach, her legs. I avoided the areas that called to my...male mind. Bella's hips jumped forward, leaning ever-so-slightly against the...lower region of my anatomy...and I couldn't help but whimper. She blushed as she realized what had just occurred.

For years, I had been supressing them, acting more mature than my age, and finally those damn hormones caught up with me.

Thank God Charlie was obliviously watching television downstairs.

"B-Bella, we h-have to s-stop," I stuttered, embarrassingly stumbling over the words. My hips compulsively rocked against Bella's. She seemed aggravated and shook her head, flipping us over so that she was on top.

She growled at me. My sweet, innocent, pure Bella growled at me! It was pretty rousing for me, and I bit back a moan. Her fingers fumbled clumsily with my shirt buttons, and she angrily ripped at them as if they were offending.

My hands trapped her wrists then, my eyes probably conveying all the passion and desire I felt. "Please, Bella. I don't want to lose control."

To lose control would be to do something I might later regret.

"Dammit, Edward! Is that all life is about? Control, control, control! Can't you just _let go_ for once and actually enjoy this?!" Bella snarled. Like this, she looked all the more like a little lioness. My little lioness.

That statement stopped me. Could I let go? Could I let Bella do what she wanted? I knew my body sure wanted to, but my mind? I was torn between letting myself go and enjoying her presence, or pushing her back before I did something stupid.

The latter lost.

I laid back quietly like an obedient child and knew it must have surprised Bella, who's eyes widened fractionally in disbelief. Then she eager began tearing at my buttons again, snapping the string that held them to my shirt and scattering them around the room.

I couldn't watch Bella be that alluring. It would push me too far. So I turned my head and watch one unfortunate button fly swiftly and plunk against the shiny mirror. I turned back to Bella, smiling in an amused way.

Apparently, she became indignant. "What?"

I shook his head and bit my tongue to hide my smile, drawing figures on her clothed back. Bella struggled a while more, then managed to shove my shirt off my torso, her expression dissolving. I chuckled softly as her eyes became wide and slightly glazed over, and my fingers danced on her smooth skin. I slipped a hand underneath her body to massage her cute belly. Her eyes fluttered closed and she moaned.

She examined my upper body, stroking with her devious hands and nuzzling with her nose. My stomach muscles became taunt as she dropped her attention lower, towards my belly button. "Something got you tense?"

My eyelids lowered. "You've no idea," I whispered back, jaw hard and teeth clenched to stop the sounds of delight from spewing out. She brought her hands to my arms and began rubbing my straining biceps. Now, my mouth betrayed me. "Oh, Bella. That feels good." I wanted to slap myself. What if it scared her off? Groans were usually not part of my vocabulary.

Instead, a concerned light entered Bella's eyes. "Really?" she asked, and continued lifting the ache from my upper arms.

"Yeah. It was Emmett's fault." I'd decided that it couldn't hurt to tell Bella why. "He demanded a wrestling match - no, a _tournament_ - right after I came in from basketball practice. And doing fifty push-ups. My arms were already hurting, but he just had to make them burn, did he? That's why I lost." I tried to keep my smile as even as possible, but it felt as if it were going to slip. "Maybe we should stop. That's already pushing our boundaries too far."

Her chocolate eyes widened. "No, Edward. Please. Just a little more. What's the point in making boundaries if you're not going to push them?"

I chewed on my lower lip, thinking hard. Should I push the boundaries? It couldn't hurt to take Bella's shirt off too, the devil in on my shoulder reasoned. But we'd already pushed the boundaries, the angel countered.

I pushed the angel off my shoulder.

My hands darted to Bella's blouse and I had undone half of her buttons before she realized what was happening. It was amazing that I was not fumbling like an unsure idiot. I pushed the shirt off and Bella lay there, clad only in her jeans and a sinful corset-blue bra. She was glorious.

"Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?" I murmured, running the tips of my fingers lightly along her jutting collarbone. She shivered pleasantly, and I could see the tiny goosebumps rising on her arms. I slid one of the thin straps of her bra down so I could plant a kiss on her bare shoulder.

Her lips curved upward invitingly. "Why don't you show me," she crooned seductively.

It was my turn to shiver as I realized what she was asking me to do. No. No, no, no. I couldn't. There were a thousand ways it could go wrong: she would regret it, she would get pregnant, Charlie would catch us. No. I couldn't take the risks. As much as I wanted it (and I wanted it a lot) we couldn't. We weren't ready. I slid the bra strap back onto her shoulder. "No, Bella. Too far. After all, what's the point in after the wedding if I'm going to take you now? No, I'm going to do it the right way." I held her hands in mine.

She threw her head back and groaned, stirring a bit of pity in me. But I held firm.

"Patience, love," I breathed, hands floating like ghosts over her relatively flat stomach, which tensed immediately. I nudged her ribcage gently and just touched the bottoms of her tantalizing breasts, not wanting to go any farther tonight. Bella let out a moan and tore furiously at her bottom lip with her teeth.

The TV downstairs muted and silence filled the entire house. Charlie stumped in a painfully loud manner up the stairs and knocked on the door.

"Are you okay, Bells?"

I froze, only my eyes moving as I watched Bella swallow hard, her eyes meeting mine. Shoot. And Charlie carried a gun too. Double shoot.

I snatched blindly at the comforter and ducked under it, tucking my head against Bella's still-bare stomach. The bed lurched violently. Bella shivered, though I didn't know from what. I heard the creak of the door opening and Charlie must have stuck his head in. I breathed shallowly, afraid that my racing heartbeat would give me away and clutching at the sheets underneath me.

"You okay, Bells? I heard something." Charlie's voice was gruff and stern. I couldn't help but wonder if dying from a bullet wound through the head hurt. _Of course it hurts, stupid!_ my brain yelled at me. _You should have listened to Alice._

Bella shifted above me and laughed. Was I the only one who detected the quiver in her voice? "Yeah, Ch - Dad, I'm fine."

"Where's the Cullen boy?" he asked, still persistent. I shuddered in fear.

"You mean Edward? He went home hours ago, Dad." Charlie paused and then closed the door with a loud grunt.

"Boys. Sneaking into my poor baby daughter's room in the middle of the night. Ah, but I must be growing old and hearing things...Being silly, Charlie..." I could hear his voice getting fainter and fainter as he returned back downstairs.

Bella pulled back the covers and I sighed. She grabbed my hand, bringing it to her hip and fixing me with her pleading stare. I avoided her gaze and pulled my hand away, but not before I squeezed her hip. She was too hard to resist. "That's enough for one night." I pulled on my shirt and tucked Bella into bed, pecking her softly on the forehead and got ready to leave. Her hand shot out and caught mine.

"Will you at least stay for a while," she begged softly, pulling her puppy-dog face that reminded me creepily of Alice. She pouted and I froze.

I stood there, unsure. As I learned in books, an animal's greatest instinct is that of fight or flight. So it applied to me. Fight or Flight? Stay and fight for my Bells and be rewarded with Bella's company, or flee back home where there are no guns pointed at my head, triggers at the ready? I chose fight.

I dropped back onto the soft bed, worming my way under the covers and cuddling next to Bella. My arms caught her waist.

Our mouths sought each others and collided, kissing hard. I, being the gentleman that Esme brought me up to be, rolled over so that I was hovering over Bella again, without my weight crushing her. My tongue probed her full bottom lip. To my utter surprise, she refused.

I whined piteously, knowing that she was a sucker for vulnerability. My eyes pleaded with hers and I tried to get that smoldering look that made girls weak at the knees, all the while pushing at her lips with my demanding tongue. At last, she gave in, and I will happily say that the world could have exploded in that moment and I wouldn't know nor care.

Bella tore her lips from mine, mouth open and gasping for much-needed breath. I lowered my head and started to nip and lick the smooth pale column of her neck, kissing and biting occasionally. Bella, bless her, angled her head to give me better access. Her hands ripped my shirt off again. "You know," she panted breathlessly, "You're lucky my cousins aren't here."

"All the more reason to take advantage of you tonight," I replied. My voice was husky all of a sudden and I smiled. "Don't take my words to heart, Bella."

"Aw...dammit. Just as I thought I was winning," she half whined, half sighed.

I gazed at her. "Don't ever think you're winning, Bella," I whispered, feeling the power and the need to defend my position well up in me. "Cause _I'm _the one who always wins. You're just my helpless little puppy, aren't you?"

I nipped playfully at the sensitive skin of her throat. "Answer, Bella. Say that I'm the one who always wins. Say that you're only my vulnerable little pup." She squeaked quietly, then sighed. I smiled and murmured, "Good."

"Well?" I asked, falling back onto the bed.

"You're pretty good at being the Alpha. I just _quiver_ under your power," Bella grinned, her voice sultry. I growled at her choice of words and she just stared at me, eyes widened innocently.

"Succubus," I accused. She was one dangerous creature. She beamed, pleased to have elicited this response from me. "Which reminds me. I wanted to take you to a movie tomorrow night, called 'Succubus'. Care to join me?"

Bella took her full bottom lip between he teeth again, seeming deep in thought. "No, can't. Sorry. I'm busy."

Red-hot fury washed through me. Every time one of us wanted to go on a date, the other declined. It was starting to anger me.

I sighed, frustrated. "What is it with us?" I snarled, directing my anger at myself and not at Bella. "Why are we always busy? Why can't we ever have time for each other, besides sneaking into each others rooms in the dead of night? Do you realize, Bella, that our last date was months ago? Months. Are we or are we not fiancees? Why aren't we acting the part then?"

"Please, Edward, stop. I don't want to have a fight." When I looked up, I realized that there were tears swimming in Bella's eyes.

I felt my face drop. An angel like her should never be exposed to tears. "I'm sorry, Bella. I didn't mean to make you cry. I'm just a fool who can't take rejection. Can you forgive me, Bella?" I wiped the tear tracks off her cheeks and cradled her in my arms like a fragile child.

"There's nothing to forgive, Edward. And you're not a fool. Quite the opposite, actually." Ah, Bella, my sweet. You were always one to see the good in a person.

I kissed her to make sure I was forgiven completely. "I guess I can't change your mind? The business can't wait?"

"I'm afraid not," she said. Did I detect a note of sadness in her voice? "But at least you'll know I love you."

I laughed quietly. Oh, yes. That knowledge was more worthy than anything. More worthy than a thousand diamonds, a thousand riches, a thousand tons of gold. Bella loved me. "And that I'll be eternally grateful for."

..................................................

I watched Bella sleep, as she rolled over comfortably. After we had made-out for another long, passion-filled ten minutes, I had decided that she needed some sleep. I almost wished I hadn't for I was selfish and I wanted her company (awake) all the time.

So Bella had changed into a thin cotton T-shirt and a pair of shorts that hit about mid-thigh. It wasn't necessarily hot enough, but she knew that my body heat would help.

But it was still wholly inappropriate attire for a teenage girl to wear while her fiancee was in the room. Watching her sleep.

Bella curled into my chest, snoozing and oblivious to what was going on in my mind. Occasionally, she would mutter my name, accompanied with a sigh of pure longing. I bit my lip as she invoked my name again.

I tore my eyes from her rosy lips and glanced around the room, nervous. This was the time when Charlie would normally go to sleep.

To distract myself, I stared at insignificant things around the cluttered bedroom. There was the cashmere sweater Alice gave Bella for Christmas, bless her pointed little heart. And the charm bracelet I got her, lying on the dresser. My eye fell on the rocking chair, where Bella had tossed her clothes.

Dear Lord. Please don't tell me that it's just lying there.

But sure enough, Bella's sinful blue bra lay on top, seeming to jeer at me. I bit my lip again and shifted my eyes toward Bella, feeling the unfamiliar warmth spread to my cheeks. (Edward Cullen blushing. I wondered what Emmett was going to say about that).

That meant Bella wasn't wearing a bra...

I mentally punched myself and stared out the window, watching the moonlight give an eerie glow to the willow tree in the yard.

There was the sound of footsteps outside Bella's room, and then I heard the doorknob turning. My eyes froze, and then I threw myself underneath the bed. Why was Charlie so damn persistent? And I was almost caught twice tonight.

Charlie stood at the door, watching his daughter and scrunitizing every surface of the room.

"Edward," Bella moaned. I blushed again, knowing that Charlie heard.

Sure enough, there was a grunt of disgust and Charlie closed the door. Thank God.

I collapsed on the bed and, exhausted, fell asleep.

The next morning, the first thing I realized was that I was cold. Apparently, I was still shirtless. I raked my eyes over the room, looking for my shirt. That's funny. I could've sworn that Bella dropped it at the foot of her bed.

My eyes landed on the clock and I leaped out of the bed. 9 o'clock! That was about the time Charlie woke up! There was a thump from the direction of his room and I abandoned my search for my shirt, launching myself out of the window and into the willow tree. Holy crap! It was _cold!_

Leaping from my perch in the tree, I landed in front of my car. At last! Safety! I shoved the keys into the ignition and sped out of there like the devil was chasing me.

Esme could yell at me later.

..................................................

I pulled Vivian closer to me and sighed, wishing that the people ogling us would just _turn around_ and leave us the hell alone. Didn't they know that celebrities liked something called 'private space'?

Okay, so 'Succubus' wasn't so wonderful. It wasn't as if Bella and I were going to watch it if she had accepted my invitation (I was now grateful she hadn't because if she had, I would have had to make up some strange story about how I couldn't come). We would have just come here and done what we did best: make-out and show our love for one another. This movie wasn't really interesting. And yet it was crowded in here.

I had to listen to another 'They're going out?' and 'Aw, how cute!' conversation and it was getting on my nerves. "You know what? I have half a mind to go up there and say that we're not really dating."

Vivian nodded her head towards the owner of the theatre. "You tell him and he'll sing like a canary. Then think of how much trouble we'll be in."

I scowled, but she was right. We'd be in so much trouble Mr. Ray would no doubt take my head off. He may ramble a lot, but business was business to him. No fooling around. I was startled out of my thoughts when Vivian pecked me on the cheek. I looked around and met a dozen pairs of inquiring, awed eyes. Oh, yeah. Boyfriend and girlfriend. I composed my face and pecked her cheek in reply.

"Would you stop that?" Vivian hissed all of a sudden. I stared at her, surprised, until I realized that she was talking about me bouncing my knee.

"Sorry," I whispered. "I didn't know I was doing it."

"Well, then, stop." Wow, cranky mood. "Isn't there a rule in movie theatres about no cells phones turned on during the movie?"

"This owner isn't stupid. He knows that taking pictures of us will bring more people flocking to his business." I wanted to cave the man's face in, but resisted. People always took advantage of us, we should be used to it.

Vivian turned to look at the miserable dude. (Miserable as in 'of wretched character or quality' not 'uneasy or unhappy'.)

"I guess they don't have the chance to see a lot of popstars out of LA," I suggested lightly, trying to lift the mood. No such luck. Vivian grunted angrily and focused on the screen with dagger eyes.

"This is boring," she complained after five minutes of no action.

"Patience," I said, though my own patience was quickly wearing thin. I wasn't exactly paying attention to the movie. No, I was getting impatient with the people taking pictures of us. And the squeals of teenage girls going, 'Oh, he's so hot!' I shuddered.

Vivian huffed. "I hate romances."

"No? Well, we're supposed to be going out, so you're supposed to be a chick-flick lover, Viv." I knew it was stupid to call her by her nickname, but I wanted to annoy her to take my mind off these aggravating people.

For a second, her eyes were murderous and I actually feared for my life. But she just muttered, "Shut up," and settled for a dark glare.

Seeing (and sensing) still more people watching us, I decided to spice it up a bit. I pulled her onto my lap and cuddled with her much like I would with Bella. "Come on, Vivian, cheer up."

"How can I cheer up when you're suffocating me?" she snapped. I wondered if it was only the stares making her this wound up, or if there was something else making her cranky.

"I'm not _suffocating_ you. It's called hugging. People do it when they like each other very much."

She snorted.

Then she gasped, angry. "How dare they put my song in without telling me?" she hissed, and I could almost see steam rising from her nostrils. She would make a great dragon. "And into a movie about some stupid she-demon stealing men's virtue while they're sleeping!"

That last statement made me laugh. So that was what the movie was about. "Fine then. Since I don't like this movie very much either, care to skip it?"

"Sure." She leaped up at record speed. In unison, all heads craned around to study us leaving.

"You're not permitted to leave the theatre during the movie," the owner pointed out when we reached the exit in a desperate attempt to keep his new shiny toys under his command.

"We have urgent business to attend to."

The man opened his mouth, but I raised an eyebrow and he shut it. Ah, the wonders of intimidation. He let us pass, his wonderful day no doubt suddenly ruined. I heard him mutter sullenly under his breath.

"Thank God," Vivian sighed as soon as we escaped the stifling theatre. She made a beeline for the benches in the park.

So there we sat, shifting every now and then, tension suffocating in the air, uncomfortable. Whenever a passerby came within seeing distance of us, I would grab Vivian's hand and pretend to be fawning over her.

An old couple, their ages estimated around sixty, hobbled along the path that ran in front of out bench and I snatched Vivian's hand up, holding it on my thighs and playing with her fingers. It was only now that I noticed Vivian's fingers were shaped much like Bella's: thin, pale, delicate.

The woman spoke to her husband, but I was too busy examining Vivian's fingers to catch the muted words. The man replied.

The couple beamed kindly at us as they trooped passed, and Vivian smiled back, a bit wary. I, on the other hand, waved enthusiastically at them.

Soon, less people came by this path and we were left alone. A crescent moon rose, wavering in the inky sky.

"Don't you think the moon gets lonely sometimes?"

I shrugged, surprised at her question. "I guess. The Ancient Greeks thought of the moon as the goddess Artemis, sister of the sun god Apollo. Others thought of her as Selene, and the sun as Helios. It's confusing." Talking about Ancient times helped me take my mind off the present.

Vivian asked, "Isn't Artemis the Wild Goddess?"

I watched the moon, unable to look at Vivian. "Yeah. She was the Goddess of the Hunt, the Protector of Wild Animals, the Goddess of the Moon, and the Lady Who Walked the Tides, among other things. Oh, and she was the Virgin Goddess." I grinned slyly at her, sure that what I would say next would not agree with her. "Young virgin women prayed to her before they lost their virginity."

"Let's not talk about that." I smiled inwards in triumph.

"Sure, whatever you say. I sometimes wonder how she can spend her day, pardon, _night_, being the moon, and how she can fulfill all her other duties too. And answer the lee-ttle people's prayer." I demonstrated 'little' with my fingers.

"She must be lonely up there, by herself, with no one for company but the stars."

"The Ancient Greeks--"

"What about the Romans?"

I gave her a look, and she shut her mouth. "As I was saying, before I was _rudely_interrupted, the Anicent Greeks thought of the stars and the constellations as dead people's spirits. Only important dead people, mind you. Or memories. Like you know, Taurus, the Bull?" She nodded. "Yeah, that constellation was associated with Zeus, or as I like to call him, the 'Fickle God' (he got lots of women in trouble with Hera, his wife when she found out he was sleeping around). It represents when Zeus carted off Europa and wooed her in the shape of a white bull. So maybe the moon isn't quite so lonely."

"Must be wonderful up there, surrounded by ghosts and memories," Vivian muttered sarcastically. I grinned.

I told Vivian a lot about mythology and the Ancient Greeks and Romans, and I don't know how, but she ended up in my lap.

She unexpectedly pushed her head up a bit to ask me a question, as I turned my head down to watch her, and our lips met. Vivian froze underneath me, and I was about to pull away, when curiosity got the better of me. Gently, slowly, I kissed her. I don't know why, but something about her reminded me of Bella. When my mouth urged her to move in sync, Vivian responded hesitantly. The kiss was innocent and sweet.

It was amazing. Unbelievable.

But I knew that I was in _so_ much trouble.

* * *

**Yay! My longest chapter yet! 24, almost 25 pages! It took me three days to write this one, so review, my lovelies! Oh, and tell me if I should keep the fluff like that, or if I should tone it down. I wanted something passionate for this chapter, and I guess you guys know why it's called 'Kisses'.**

**By the way, everything about the Greek mythology, the Artemis thing, was true. So is the constellation information. I'm particularly fond of Anicent Greece.**


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